How to Love
by Fuzzy the Bear
Summary: Ryou get's sick, Bakura makes him better. Yami get's suspicious and does something he'll regret. Based on an RP that Fluffy and I had. Mariku is Malik because Fluffy wanted him to be. BLAME FLUFFY! Lemons in later chapters. Note: Never to be completed
1. Chapter 1

**Fuzzy: Me and Fluffy were roleplaying so warning: This has a lot of POV change.**

**Fluffy: TIS MAH IDEA! oFTo**

**Fuzzy: Also, any mentions of "Malik" are "Mariku" because Fluffy wanted to use Malik for the yami.**

**Fluffy: SORRY FOR DA CONFOOSHUN!**

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><p>Ryou sighed, sloshing along the wet sidewalk. How could he have forgotten his umbrella? Especially on a day like today when he KNEW it was going to rain? Now his backpack was soaked, all of his school things surely ruined. He'd have to replace it all. That would take days! All of the homework and general schoolwork gone. And he couldn't do anything about it.<p>

He turned a corner and looked down the street, streetlights lighting his way. He still had quite a long walk to go until he got home. He shivered, his drenched hair cold and wet against his neck and face, and his clothes that weren't any less dry making him even colder. He was surely going to be sick tomorrow... It would give him time to replace all of his work. Ryou groaned.

_I'm going to be home sick and have to work. Oh joy._

Bakura glanced out the window, it was pouring hard, his hikari would be drenched in the downpour. Bakura had hidden the umbrella to hide the evidence of... er... bullet holes put there when he and Malik had been doing target practice while Ryou was out with the Pharaoh's midget. Bakura hoped his hikari wouldn't be too sick. Not that the yami minded taking care of his hikari, secretly he loved the small boy, he'd be mocked if he told anyone though.

Bakura sighed and waited, towel ready, for Ryou when the small boy got home.

Looking around nervously, Ryou continued his miserable walk. It was dark out and that put him on edge. Not because of the dark itself, but what could be lurking in those pitch black allies that he kept passing... He jumped as a cat ran out from one right in front of him, then put a hand over his heart. He felt the quick thumping there caused by a mixture of getting himself worked up over nothing and the slight scare from the cat.

Finally, after another forty-five minutes, he reached the door of the small apartment him and his yami shared. Sighing again and pulling out his key, Ryou unlocked the door and stepped inside.

Bakura turned around when the door opened tossing his hikari the towel. He looked at the form that shivered because of the cold rain. Bakura sighed and stood from his seat on the couch, walking upstairs into the bathroom. He turned the faucet on and waited until it was warm.

"Ryou! Come upstairs!" He called, his voice showing little emotion, if any at all.

Ryou caught the piece of cloth out of reflex and looked down at it, frowning slightly. Bakura was being... considerate? _At least slightly._ He sighed once more and plopped his soggy schoolbag by the door, stripping himself of his jacket and shirt, but deciding to leave his pants and boxers on until he could get to his room and change.

Obediently, Ryou went upstairs to where he heard Bakura's voice coming from, shivering slightly again at his chilled condition.

"Yes, Bakura?"

Bakura stepped away from the tub. "Warm up okay? I'm going to go get you clothes from your room..." Bakura walked off, leaving Ryou to take his bath.

The pale yami felt so soft right now, it irritated him, but it was his fault that Ryou was going to get sick, might as well make it up to him as much as possible. Bakura rummaged through Ryou's drawers, pulling out Ryou's favorite light blue PJ's.

"I'm going to regret this later aren't I?" Bakura sighed, walking back for the bathroom.

Wide brown eyes blinked in disbelief. Bakura... He filled up a warm bath for Ryou. After Bakura left, Ryou carefully shut the door and proceeded to remove his pants and boxers.

Frowning softly in slight confusion he stood there, looking at the tub. Searching the water for some trick. Had Bakura left an electrical wire in the water? Put some sort of acid in it? Jacked off in it? Ryou shuddered, still contemplating whether or not to get in, not even hearing Bakura's approaching footsteps.

Bakura entered the bathroom without knocking, thinking Ryou had gotten in already. Instead, he was greeted by Ryou's ass. Bakura flushed slightly red, shaking it off before setting the clothes on the countertop.

"What are you doing?" Bakura said after he had recovered from his blush.

Ryou whipped around automatically, forgetting about his current naked state. Just as fast, he turned back around, whole body flushing red, and quickly got into the tub.

"N-nothing!" he squeaked. So far so good... No electrical shock and there was no painful burning... Though that didn't leave out the "Bakura jacked off into the bathwater" option. He swallowed, still red, and looked at Bakura. "Th-thanks."

"No problem." Bakura said, acting as if seeing Ryou like that hadn't affected him, when in reality, he was glad he had worn loose pants today. "Just... call if you need anything." And Bakura left Ryou alone.

_What... the... hell?_ Bakura thought, practically running down the hall. _I had no idea he was so... sexy!_ _Was Ryou always like that? He'd just seemed cute before... I'm going to hell for this. I swear..._ Bakura sighed and walked into the kitchen. He grabbed a few things from the pantry, things Ryou had taught him how to make. Stuff like soup and toast... but still, soup was good when you were cold, and Ryou would be sick anyways...

So Bakura started making dinner.

"Okay," Ryou responded. He was finally alone.

And Bakura had seen him naked.

_Well, he only saw my backside, didn't he? He didn't see anything else... What about when I turned around? Was I quick enough or did he see something? _Ryou had no idea why he was panicking about this so much. They had shared a body for several years after all. _Ryou's _body_._ So anything Bakura had seen he would have already seen before, right?

Downstairs he could hear Bakura in the kitchen. Ryou muttered to himself, "If there's nothing in this bath that'll kill me, his cooking sure will..." He sighed then leaned back, attempting to relax.

Bakura kept going, it wasn't hard to make soup, yet for some reason he tried extra hard for Ryou. He knew he _really liked_ Ryou, but... he was actually trying?

"Ra, there must be something wrong with my head... I'm acting almost... Lovey!" Bakura choked out the last word, pausing from the stove to take the toast he managed to not burn and put it on the plate. "Ryou better really enjoy this... or I swear to Ra I'll..." Bakura stopped there, he knew he couldn't hurt Ryou, poor hikari had been through enough without his help. Bakura wouldn't beat Ryou like the Pharaoh and his pep squad thought, he couldn't beat Ryou! He just couldn't! Especially when Ryou looked at him with his big brown doe eyes, even more so when those eyes collected with tears.

Bakura grumbled to himself about being weak and continued fixing their dinner.

While it was true that Bakura had never laid a hand on him, Ryou still found himself slightly afraid of his yami. He'd seen him kill other people and beat people within an inch of death... What made him so different? Ryou just knew that one day he'd do or say something wrong that would set Bakura off and then poof! No more Ryou Bakura.

He honestly never knew why his friends thought he was beaten. He never had bruises on him and he only refused to take off his school jacket because the entire building was freezing! The one time he had a black eye, he had tripped over something Bakura left lying around and fell into a wall. Ryou was just clumsy.

He sunk lower into the tub, closing his eyes and blowing bubbles. Wanting to feel the warmth on his face, too, he completely submerged himself, holding his breath.

Bakura turned the burner down so the soup would only stay warm and made his way back up to the bathroom. _THIS TIME_ however, Bakura did knock on the door.

"Ryou are you almost done?" He asked, hoping he didn't sound as stupid as he felt.

Ryou didn't hear the knock or his yami's voice underwater. He enjoyed the feeling of warmth all around him, especially after his little stroll in the pouring rain.

To Ryou, he was just relaxing, but to someone else it may look like suicide.

Bakura slowly opened the door, peaking in, he was glad that he couldn't see all of Ryou this time... he panicked when he saw Ryou sinking himself under the water. He didn't want to look stupid... but he didn't want Ryou to die... so he settled for the next best thing.

~Ryou? Are you okay?~ His voice across their mind link was panicked and rushed.

Ryou jumped a little at the voice in his head. Bakura's voice. He frowned, sitting up and looking at him.

"I'm fine, why?" Confusion showed on his face. Bakura had never been this caring before, what makes now any different?

Bakura sighed in relief. "No reason. I was wondering if you're almost done in there." _DAMMIT! NOW I REALLY LOOK LIKE AN IDIOT!_ Bakura thought, mentally hitting himself. _I REALLY NEED TO GET A FUCKING GRIP!_

Ryou continued looking at him curiously.

"Almost... Just a few more minutes, okay?" He grabbed the shampoo and lathered some on his head, the vanilla scent floating around the bathroom. He inhaled it deeply, liking the smell, and continued washing.

Bakura nodded. "Alright," Bakura inhaled as well, Ryou always smelled like vanilla, it was comforting and Bakura liked it.

The pale yami made his way back downstairs, and sat on the couch. The scent of vanilla lingered around the house as it always did when Ryou used his fancy oils and soaps. It was calming to Bakura and when Ryou smelled like that all the time... it sent his libido wild. That's another thing the Pharaoh had accused him of: Rape, though Bakura could hardly stand the word. He remembered back in ancient Egypt when he'd been raped, it hurt like hell, emotionally and physically. There's no way he'd put Ryou through that, especially when Ryou was way smaller than Bakura had been back then.

The Pharaoh was really stupid sometimes.

After washing himself, Ryou stepped out of the tub and wrapped himself in a towel, enjoying the fuzziness. There was nothing like the warmth and comfort of a warm towel after taking a nice, relaxing bath.

He took his clothes off the sink and examined them closely. His favorite set of light blue pajamas. Nothing seemed to be wrong with them. He turned, dropping his towel to put them on, and noticed that he had forgotten to drain the tub. Sighing, he set his clothes on the porcelain edge and leaned down to unplug it, accidentally knocking his clothes into the water.

"Oh no..." Sighing again, he picked up the wet garments and set them on the sink as he wrapped the towel back around himself. Grabbing the soaked pajamas once more, he opened the door and headed towards his room.

Bakura heard a soft splash and Ryou's voice in a soft frustrated tone. Bakura stood up and made his way to Ryou's room. "You alright?" He asked sort of grumbling it out. Ryou was the clumsiest person in the world, knowing him he probably dropped his underwear in the bath tub

This was turning out to be one of the worst days ever for Ryou. Now, as he stood searching through his drawers for something to wear, he realized that he had forgotten to do laundry.

"Um, yeah. Hold on a sec!" Wrapping the towel around himself once more, he opened his bedroom door. "Um, Bakura, could I borrow some of your clothes? I dropped the ones you got me in the tub..." He talked quietly, looking at the ground.

Bakura couldn't help from laughing, but it wasn't harsh or teasing. "Sure, though they might be a bit big..." Bakura wandered into his room and dug out a white shirt that would end up hanging low on Ryou. Mainly because Bakura's pants and boxers would end up falling off Ryou...

_Don't think dirty! You can't afford to jack off when he's home!_ Bakura thought and hurried back to Ryou's room, handing him the oversized shirt.

"Here you go. Sorry but I don't think I have anything that won't fall off your waist." Bakura said.

Ryou blushed a little bit at the embarrassment of it all.

"It's okay if they're big... I just need something to wear other than a towel." He waited for Bakura to come back, leaning against the doorframe and sneezing.

When Bakura came back he seemed to have a very light pink flush on his cheeks, but Ryou ignored it, taking the shirt from him and smiling. "Thanks!" He closed his bedroom door and quickly put it on, making sure it covered up everything important. Then he opened the door again.

Bakura smiled after Ryou went back into his bedroom, feeling very accomplished. Ryou had already started sounding sick, and again it made Bakura feel worse about ruining their umbrella. He reached down and pressed his hand to Ryou's forehead when the boy had returned.

"Great, you already have a fever..." Bakura sighed. "C'mon..." Bakura grabbed Ryou's hand and began tugging the smaller boy downstairs. Ryou's hand was soft and warm, and it fit perfectly with Bakura's, the pale yami smiled again, hoping Ryou hadn't seen it.

They entered the dining room and Bakura left Ryou to go get the soup and toast, serving up two bowls and walking back into the dining room.

"I tried," Bakura said, setting the two bowls down with the single plate of toast that was stacked in the center of the small table. "It's not really much, but soup is supposed to be good when you're sick right?" Bakura was trying to remember what Ryou told him back when Bakura had gotten sick for the first time. His hikari had taken the day off just to take care of him, something Bakura didn't ask for but enjoyed anyway.

Ryou blinked when Bakura pressed his hand against his forehead.

"How do _you_know how hot a fever feels, Bakura?" he asked softly, willingly going with him. He caught just the slightest glimpse of a smile on Bakura's face, but brushed it off for the fever starting to make him see things.

When they reached the dining room and Bakura left, Ryou stood there for a moment, confused. Then he shook it off and sat down, waiting for his yami's return. Bakura almost seemed to be guilty about something. _I'll bet he lost a bet to someone and the bet was over my soul or something, _Ryou thought, sighing. All he knew was that this uber nice Bakura couldn't last for long.

His eyes widened in awe as he looked at the food placed in front of him. Bakura had managed _this? _

"Thanks!" Ryou said, still kind of in shock. "What kind is it? Oh, and yes, soup is good for you when you're sick. And if the stomach isn't upset, so is juice. And tea is good for almost every illness." He cocked his head at the soup in front of him. It certainly smelled good.

Bakura grinned, taking his hikari's words as praise. "It's that one with the noodles, as for knowing what a fever feels like... Malik had one, one day and I remember he was really warm." Bakura sat down at his place and started eating the food he'd made, proud of himself. He glanced over at Ryou, expecting the boy to eat it. But when he didn't, Bakura looked hurt and confused.

"Ramen? Yum." He kept just looking down at it, unsure of whether or not he wanted to eat it. He nodded at Bakura telling about Malik, still looking at the noodles. Ryou glanced over to look at Bakura, and the look he got was just so hurt looking he had to take a bite. His eyes lit up. "Mmm!" He smiled and continued eating.

With his mouth full of food, he couldn't talk, so he finally decided to try and use the mind link for praise.

~Um, Bakura?~

Bakura nodded, then grinned at the look on Ryou's face. He felt a lot better and continued eating.

~Yes Ryou?~

Ryou grinned at Bakura through a mouthful of noodles.

~This is really good. Thank you.~

After swallowing a large mouthful, he picked up a piece of toast and munched on it.

Bakura's grin widened, Ryou had given him praise! He couldn't be happier. He laughed a little at the goofy grin Ryou wore. He repressed the urge to yell out in joy, instead taking a piece of toast and biting into it.

~You're welcome.~ And he smiled softly at Ryou, no longer caring if he looked weak.

Ryou giggled a little at the look Bakura had. He looked like a dog that had just gotten praised by his master. He could practically see Bakura's tail wagging.

Still smiling and eating toast, Ryou began to think that maybe Bakura didn't have an ulterior motive. Maybe he was just finally being nice. Ryou sneezed on his toast.

Bakura handed Ryou a napkin, finishing off his soupy noodles in the process. "You find the weirdest times to sneeze... your poor toast didn't see it coming!"

Taking the napkin and wiping his nose, Ryou giggled at Bakura.

"Thanks. And I know..." He sighed. "I just don't see how I could've possibly forgotten my umbrella this morning..." Shrugging, he continued eating his noodles.

Bakura sunk low in his seat guiltily. "Uh... Ryou... that's my fault... it kinda... has bullet holes in it." Bakura looked like a lost puppy at this point. "I'm really sorry..."

Ryou looked at him, shocked. "Bullet holes? How did it get bullet holes?" He was a little mad- after all if it didn't have bullet holes in it, he wouldn't be sick- but not too much. Especially after the guilty look Bakura gave.

"Malik and I painted a target on it and used the gun he got from Marik as target practice. I was going to buy a new one... but it started raining. And I'm really sorry." Bakura said, his voice sounding as sincere as he could get. He really was sorry, he didn't want to hurt the one he loved most, but the gun looked _REALLY_ fun and he couldn't help himself...

Ryou's eyes widened more. He sighed, already forgiving Bakura. Never had he heard that tone from his yami or been given that look. He truly looked and sounded earnest.

"It's okay... Just tell me next time, okay? I need to know these things so I can bring a raincoat instead." Ryou smiled softly at Bakura, hoping to make him feel better...

... But at that exact moment, his body decided to send him into a coughing fit.

"Ryou!" Bakura hopped up from his chair and ran over to his hikari, in a complete state of panic. He didn't know what to do so he impulsively asked: "Are you okay?" He wrapped one arm around Ryou carefully, rubbing the small boys back as he continued coughing.

Once his cough calmed down, Ryou looked up at Bakura. "I-I'm okay." He gave one last cough, then sighed. "I think I got the flu..."

He then noticed that his yami's arm was wrapped around him. He tinged slightly pink at the close contact, but didn't say anything.

Bakura disregarded the blush in favor of picking Ryou up bridal style. "Then you shouldn't be up..." Bakura carried Ryou off to his room, enjoying just how close Ryou was, The shirt slid up Ryou's leg slightly, not revealing anything, but enough to Make Bakura color with his own pink hue.

Ryou's door had been left open; the yami used his foot to push it open, and gently laid the boy in his bed.

This made the hikari blush even deeper. He started to struggle impulsively, but relaxed after a moment. He looked up at Bakura with wide, shocked eyes and his mouth parted just slightly to give him an adorable surprised look.

Ryou swallowed and, still looking at Bakura, stuttered, "Thank y-you. But I can walk." when he was safely rested in his bed.

Bakura frowned. "You shouldn't be on your feet. That's what you told me. So I'm not letting you walk back when you're this sick." Bakura stood and made his way for the door. "You should rest..." Bakura's hand reached for the doorknob instinctively opening the door carefully, pausing for a moment to look back at Ryou before exiting the room.

Still looking up at him, Ryou nodded wordlessly. He watched Bakura leave, halfway hoping he wouldn't go. As of today, Bakura seemed to be warmer (Ryou didn't want to say "nicer" because he was never particularly mean to Ryou) towards his hikari and the little light liked that. His yami's company comforted him somehow; it made him feel safer. Before he could stop himself, he reached out a hand and called very quietly, "Bakura..."

Bakura barely heard it from the hallway, but turned around and walked back inside Ryou's room. "Something wrong Ry?" Bakura said, without much thought into the name he just called his hikari.

"There's nothing wrong, i-it's just..." Ryou looked away, blushing a little. "Never mind, it's nothing." With a sigh, the boy turned over so his back was facing Bakura, pulling the blankets up to his chin.

Why couldn't he just say that he wanted Bakura to stay?


	2. Chapter 2

Bakura sighed and turned to leave again, hesitating for a moment, just standing there in Ryou's room. "If you want me to stay... just let me know. Alright? I'd be more than happy to..." Bakura let out his breath and just made his way out of the room.

Ryou didn't like him like that... he had to stop thinking wishfully.

Ryou perked up when Bakura said he'd be willing to stay and rolled back over, talking louder this time.

"Bakura!" He bit his lip, waiting for the thief to come back into the room and hoping he wasn't angry.

Bakura's attention had been caught, he turned around and walked back into the room slightly quicker than before. "What is it?" Bakura asked, his voice far from angry. Ryou's faced was flushed from the heat of his fever more than anything else. He looked so fragile, you couldn't help but love him.

Swallowing then taking a deep breath, Ryou got what he wanted to say out quickly. "Canyoupleasestaywithme?" He froze again, waiting for the answer. Bakura may have just said that he would, but that could have always been a lie... Honestly Ryou wasn't really considering that option anymore.

Bakura was shocked by Ryou's question, he smiled softly, almost lovingly at the boy, before walking back and taking a seat on the bed. "I already said I would."

Ryou grinned and really hoped that this wasn't a fever dream.

"Thanks." Once again, Ryou snuggled into his bed sheets and attempted to sleep. The only difference was now he felt safe.

Bakura smiled and hesitantly reached out to pet Ryou's hair. The white hair was as soft as it looked, he no longer could help himself. Ryou was there, Ryou wasn't afraid anymore, and that made Bakura the most happy he'd been in a long. The yami leaned down and brushed his lips against Ryou's, keeping it as chaste as he could in case it scared Ryou away.

The pale boy was already starting to drift off, the feeling of Bakura petting his hair lulling him even more. By the time Bakura's lips brushed his, Ryou was fast asleep.

Bakura guessed from Ryou's lack of a response that the smaller boy had fallen asleep. That didn't bother Bakura much, it put his fears to rest. So Bakura curled up next to Ryou, wrapping his arms around the sick boy like a teddy bear, and drifted off with him... Only hoping that Ryou wasn't too sick or uncomfortable.

Ryou breathed softly in his sleep, lips parted just slightly. The fever was making his body unbearable hot, Bakura's closeness only making the temperature rise. His eyes slowly fluttered open, feeling too warm for sleep despite being tired. Even with the warmth, he was glad Bakura was next to him. He snuggled closer to his yami, his fever clouding his brain so as to make him not really realize what he was doing.

Bakura felt Ryou snuggle closer and smiled, that smile stayed plastered on his face as he fell asleep.

... then the wet dreams started.

Bakura moaned softly in his sleep, subconsciously grinding his crotch on Ryou's leg. "R-Ryou..." Bakura moaned in his sleep.

Having been too warm to sleep, Ryou was awake when this happened. And needless to say, he was kind of scared again. He was still sick, and he really hadn't sorted out his feelings for Bakura yet. The fever still clouded his mind, but he could think enough to realize what was going on. He began to shake his yami's shoulder gently, talking quietly with his stuffy nose affecting his voice.

"'Kura..." was all he was able to say of Bakura's name at the moment. "Wake up."

Bakura opened his eyes slowly, not remembering the dream he'd just had. "Hm? Something wrong?" He asked, noting the slightly scared look in Ryou's eyes. Bakura frowned in worry, did Ryou have a nightmare?

Ryou's eyes widened slightly. Either he didn't remember it... Or he really was messing with his mind after all.

"Nothing... You were just, uh, acting strange in your sleep." His voice was so soft it could barely be heard, the flu making him weak. "And you probably shouldn't be sleeping in my bed. You might catch what I have."

"Acting strange? Oh well." Bakura heard Ryou's voice getting weaker. "Don't worry about me..." Bakura stood and went to the door. "I'll be right back okay?" He made his way to the kitchen, Ryou had said tea was good for throats and illnesses right? So that's what Bakura started doing... making tea, another of the few things Ryou had taught him.

"What else happens during flu's..." Bakura thought for a moment before his eyes widened. He grabbed a small trash can from the bathroom and ran upstairs. "I just remembered that you said people throw up during the flu..." Bakura said, setting the trash can down next to the bed on Ryou's side, then went to go back downstairs, where the water had already started to boil.

Ryou nodded. "Yeah, acting strange." He looked up at Bakura, sad at the loss of his warmth, nodding again. He rolled to his other side, trying to get comfortable. He hated the heat the blankets gave off, but had the chills without them. The boy sighed. This is why he hated being sick. He was helpless and his body couldn't make up its mind. ... Wait. Make up. His schoolwork! He gasped as he sat up too fast, getting a dizzy spell and laying right back down.

"Bakura," he called quietly after his yami as he was on his way out from leaving the trash can.

"I'll be back in a minute Ryou, don't move okay?" Bakura called back, "Just give me a second." Bakura managed to make the tea successfully, only burning himself a couple of times on the blistering pot. Once the drink was made, Bakura made his way back up to Ryou's room, careful not to spill any, he set it on the night table. "There, I can barely hear what you're saying, that should make your throat feel better." Bakura took a seat next to Ryou, pressing his cold hands against the warm boys face.

Sighing, Ryou complied, staying in his bed. He looked at the tea on his bedside table when Bakura returned, momentarily distracted from his destroyed work.

"Did... Did you put honey in it?" Ryou licked his lips a little at the thought of a nice cup of tea with honey. He then gasped, shivering a little at Bakura's hands.

"Of course I put honey in it. Honey makes it sweeter than sugar." _Ryou's sweeter than honey though._ Bakura thought, smiling at the boy. His touch becoming gentler as he lightly rubbed the back of his fingers on Ryou's overheated face. Bakura glanced at the water logged papers on the floor. "I'll just have to go get copies from the school tomorrow." He muttered more to himself than to Ryou.

The closeness was slowly driving Bakura mad.

Ryou grinned, propping himself up slowly so Bakura's hands could stay with his face. He sat up just enough so he could drink the tea, not wanting to make himself dizzy again. As he reached for the tea, all he could think was that Bakura's hands felt nice on his skin. He felt cooler now, though he knew it must've all been in his mind. There was no way his fever could have broken yet.

He sipped at the tea. Just as he was pulling back with a soft smile on his face, his eyes widened and he barely managed to set the cup back on his dresser before he dove forward and vomited into the trash can.

Bakura jumped, pulling Ryou's hair back and rubbing his back softly. Until the boy stopped throwing up. "You alright?" Bakura asked, his eyebrows furrowed in worry.

He sat up, his face even more flushed now, out of breath. With a soft groan, he leaned against Bakura, wanting someone to support him. Wanting this flu to be over with.

Bakura just let Ryou lean against him, the yami slowly wrapped his arms around the boy. He didn't want to scare Ryou, so his arms hung loosely in Ryou's lap. Bakura could smell the vanilla in Ryou's hair, it was so perfect, so Ryou. Bakura only wished that Ryou returned his feelings, but Bakura hadn't voiced them to the frail hikari. Bakura was too afraid of the rejection, that it would make Ryou fear him more, so he kept quiet and away from Ryou.

But oh how he wanted that happiness that came with mutual love.

Ryou continued to lean on Bakura even after his arms were around him. He liked this close feeling and he wished that Bakura would hold him a little tighter... This barely made him feel wanted. So he slowly and shakily started to pick up Bakura's hands. Still slow and shaky, he placed one on one of his arms, and the other of Bakura's on the other of Ryou's so that Bakura's arms were still around him and holding him closer. This alone made him feel better.

Bakura was surprised by the actions; Ryou was just too close for him not to... so Bakura tightened his grip on Ryou, burying his face in the soft white hair, tears collecting in his eyes.

_So close, yet so far away._ Bakura thought, blinking the tears back. The pale yami nuzzled Ryou's hair. "I love you..." He said quietly.

Ryou smiled softly. He decided he liked being in Bakura's arms. It was nice and warm, and not the kind of warm that his fever brought him. A good kind of warm. He sighed happily...

Ryou frowned slightly, not quite hearing Bakura. "What was that?"

Bakura twitched, lowering his mouth to Ryou's ear, "I said... I-I love you..." Bakura was quiet anyway, despite the fact that Ryou would hear him this time. The yami froze in the fear that had kept him from confessing this earlier, the rejection would come now, but he couldn't stop himself from saying it again. "I love you."

The words sent tingles down his spine. So _THAT'S_ why he'd been acting strangely. Ryou let out a little relieved laugh, not knowing it would probably sound like he was laughing at Bakura, eyes still closed.

Bakura stopped, Ryou had started laughing... god the humiliation. He shoved Ryou aside and left the room, a lump forming in his throat. It's not like I expected anything else... Ra I'm so stupid! Bakura grumbled to himself, knocking a few things over on the way to his room. He crashed on his bed, pulling the covers up. "I'm so damn weak... Why the hell am I so damn weak?" Despite that, Bakura cried, he hadn't cried in over 5000 years, but he still cried.

Ryou looked at him wide-eyed as his yami left the room. "'Kura, wait!" He attempted to stand, only toppling over when he stood too fast, making a soft 'thud' as he landed back on his bed. Taking a deep breath, he slowly stood up, still feeling a little dizzy, but managing. He leaned against the wall heavily as he made his way to Bakura's room. His eyes were already drooping from the effort his tired body didn't want to make, but he pushed forward.

Finally reaching Bakura's room, he peeked in slowly. "Bakura? What's wrong?" He toddled into the room on unsteady legs, almost falling over. "Everything was going so well."

"Don't give me that shit!" Bakura snapped. "You fucking laughed at me! Ra, just go take care of yourself..." Bakura said, rolling over on his side. "You shouldn't be up." He mumbled. Tears fell on his black covered pillow. It hurt so much and he didn't understand why. He was acting like such a pussy and he hated it. Maybe it's because he didn't know what to do about any of it. All he really knew was that he really cared for Ryou, that he wanted Ryou to like him, that he strived to protect Ryou from the few that had hurt or threatened to hurt him. Bakura was a yami, a protector. And Ryou couldn't even give a decent _"No."_ to Bakura.

And before he could stop himself, he yelled at Ryou. "GET LOST!" Bakura instantly regretted it. But Ryou was gone.

Ryou jumped backwards a little, almost falling over. Why was Bakura mad? He was about to tell him that he returned the feelings when he stormed out...

Ryou tried again, "Please Bakura, just-" but then Bakura yelled at him to get lost and he flinched back, stumbling out of the room with tears stinging his eyes. What was wrong with Bakura? He had been acting so nice just a few minutes ago... That must have been all it was. _An act_. It was all an act to get Bakura an excuse to yell at Ryou. To hurt him, not physically, but mentally. His yami was a better actor than he thought. He was able to lie all that time about caring and able to look sincere in his actions when he did nice things. Ryou was a fool to have believed that Bakura could be nice. His heart hurt now, and as he looked down the hall towards his room, he realized he didn't have the strength or will to make it back to bed. So he curled up on the floor, shivering from the chills from the flu, and attempted to sleep as he held back his tears.

Bakura got up as quickly as he had said it. "Ryou, I'm sorry I didn't mean it! I just..." Bakura paused and saw Ryou on the floor. "I'm sorry..." Bakura picked the boy up again. "I'm really, really sorry. I didn't... Ra, I'm so sorry." All Bakura could do was apologize, though Ryou probably wouldn't believe it. Bakura didn't care, all that mattered was Ryou, and Ryou couldn't sleep on the floor when he was sick. So Bakura carried the frail boy back to his room and placed him on the bed.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you... I just, when you started laughing... I couldn't..." Bakura stopped talking. "I'm really sorry, I can't ever say it enough. You probably hate me either way, but you have to know that I'm really sorry." Bakura sighed and left the room again. Leaving Ryou to rest peacefully.

~If you need anything... you know how to find me.~ Bakura sent him, crawling into his own bed.


	3. Chapter 3

Now being in Bakura's arms felt... wrong. Even if he was apologizing_. It was still all just an act, right?_ Then why did he feel bad about turning his head away from Bakura when he carried him? Maybe _Bakura really did care... No! That's just what he wants me to think! But he's carrying me to bed... If he didn't care, he would have let me sleep on the floor. And he keeps apologizing... _Ryou bit his lip, thinking. He wasn't sure if this was another trick, or a genuine show of affection. Either way he had to say SOMETHING...

Ryou frowned slightly in thought as he was set on his bed. _When I laughed...? Oh! It's just a misunderstanding!_ His mood lifted slightly, but as he rolled over to look at Bakura, his yami wasn't there anymore. Mood dampening again, Ryou sighed sadly, knowing for sure that he had messed everything up.

... Then he remembered the mind link. Granted, he hadn't remembered until Bakura spoke to him through it, but still.

~Bakura, please... I'm sorry. I wasn't laughing at you, I was relieved. You seemed to be acting different and that finally made me realize why. Don't go. I... I love you, too.~

Bakura could hardly believe what he just heard. Ryou _did_ love him? But that's impossible! Ryou couldn't... wouldn't love him, an impure thing. Was Ryou lying to get back at him? _No, Ryou isn't the type for revenge._ Bakura thought, slowly, without saying anything in response to Ryou, the yami walked back into his hikari's room, and sat down on the bed. It was extremely quiet for a moment, Ryou's thoughts spilled through the link, his confusion and distrust of Bakura for the things that had happened. Bakura pushed Ryou's thoughts away, instead opening up his end of the link.

The only thing pouring through... was love.

"I hope that answers your question Ryou." He said softly.

Ryou bit his lip as he waited for a response. Maybe it was an act after all, just to toy with his feelings... The minutes felt like decades before Bakura entered his room. He felt the bed sink down under someone's weight. Bakura. Even with his eyes closed, he knew it was him. Though, it'd be odd if it wasn't him, considering they were the only two in the house. He still awaited an answer, body tense. He was holding his breath in anticipation... Then he felt it.

Something seemed to open in his mind and all he could feel was an intense amount of love. He gasped softly at the sudden rush, but was enjoying it. This feeling was amazing.

With a small smile on his face, he answered, "It does. Thank you, Bakura."

Bakura felt the tears fall again, but he was happy... so why was he crying? It didn't matter, he scooped Ryou up, kissing him. Not even caring if he got sick or not. He needed this, he needed it so bad it hurt. When he pulled away, he clung to Ryou like his life depended on it.

"Even Ra can't describe just how much I love you." Bakura whispered softly into Ryou's ear. The yami smiled as he felt the thin arms wrap around him holding him in return. It was just so perfect.

It was just... Ryou!

Ryou kissed his yami back, still worried about his health so he kept him mouth clamped tightly shut. Once again, being in Bakura's arms felt like the best thing in the world and he wouldn't trade it for anything else. Bakura really did love him. It wasn't an act. This knowledge alone made Ryou incredibly happy.

The boy smiled weakly at Bakura's voice in his ear. He returned the embrace, wrapping his arms around his yami. That moment, at that very second, was the best moment in Ryou's life. He never wanted it to end.

But, as all good things do, it ended. Ryou wrenched himself from Bakura's grasp to bend over the garbage can again.

Bakura smiled as he pulled back Ryou's hair and rubbed his back. Waiting until the boy finished to go clean out the garbage can. He came back and found Ryou fast asleep, and Bakura crawled in next to him. And they slept happily together.

~XOXO~

The next morning Bakura woke to find Ryou still asleep. The yami pressed his hand to the boys' forehead. Good, it went down. The yami got up and went downstairs, bent on making dry toast for Ryou when he got up, his stomach shouldn't be able to handle much more than that, in fact the soup had been a bad idea. (Bakura remembered that from all the noodles he cleaned out of the garbage can). The clock told Bakura that school had already started, and the poor yami was now fielding questions from the pep squad. Finally he got bored and hung up. Waiting until Ryou needed him.

All Ryou could think of when he finally drifted back into consciousness that the fever dreams were AMAZING. They felt so real, and every one of them involved him and Bakura. None of them were sexual, though. All of them were nice and sweet. He liked that side of Bakura; the sweet side. Groaning slightly as he felt his stomach slosh when he rolled over, Ryou looked at the clock. ... He was late for school. Later than he had ever been, no less. He sat up quickly, still not having learned his lesson from before, and dizzied himself. His head plopped back on the pillow, and he just had a general feeling of not wanting to move. Instead, he decided to call Bakura.

~Bakura? Where are you?~

Bakura had just called in Ryou as sick for today when Ryou called out to him.

~I'm downstairs. Do you need something?~ He asked back.

~I need to get up and go to school...~ His body still felt weak and he knew he would never actually make it if he went... But he had to try.

~Koi, you can't... You still have a fever! Besides, I just called you in sick today and the midget said he'd bring by your homework from today and yesterday.~ Ryou thought he could do anything... but that's a lie and both of them knew it. The school wouldn't allow him to come anyway.

Ryou blinked. ~You called me... Koi.~ He smiled to himself, liking it. Then he sighed, part of him glad to stay in bed. ~Fine... I'll stay here...~ He sighed again. ~probably for another four days or so, too... Flu's usually last about a week.~ He groaned slightly at the thought of feeling like this for a whole week.

Bakura made a face at nothing as if Ryou were crazy. ~I did... why wouldn't I? Or... did you change your mind?~ Bakura really hoped Ryou hadn't changed his mind. ~And yes, you will be staying here until it's over. Don't worry Koi, you'll be all better before you know it.~ Bakura made his way back up to Ryou's room, blushing slightly when he noticed the shirt was slipped up above Ryou's waist. Bakura didn't know what to make of it... he could always help Ryou the way he'd been taught back in Egypt... But Ryou would protest, he was sure of it. Bakura kept contemplating on whether or not he should propose the idea to Ryou…

~No, of course not! I like it. It's just the first time you've done it...~ He panicked slightly, not wanting Bakura to get mad like he did before. ~I hope it's over soon... I feel terrible.~ His face was still flushed from the fever even if it had gone down. His eyes were slightly dull and tired despite his good night's sleep, and he was sunk as far into his pillows as he could go. He didn't notice that blankets were no longer covering him, nor did he notice Bakura looking at him.

Another medical idea came to mind suddenly. Ryou looked up at his yami. "Oh, and something else you should know is feed a cold, starve a fever."

Bakura was torn from his thoughts. "Huh? What does that mean? Colds and fevers don't eat... do they?"

Ryou giggled slightly. "Like, when someone has a cold, you want them to eat, but when someone has a fever they shouldn't." Bakura took things so literally sometimes, but it was funny.

"Oh... okay." Bakura went back to thinking it over... Ryou still hadn't realized that his shirt had ridden up above his waist, giving a full view to Ryou's privates. Bakura wasn't really thinking about it much but then he spoke up... "Ryou, there's something we used to do back in ancient Egypt that fixed fevers... but it's kinda... you'll probably say no..."

Ryou's eyes had drifted closed again by the time Bakura started talking.

"Mmm, what is it?" How could Ryou possibly say no to Bakura about anything? Well, maybe to buying a new knife set, but to anything else?

Bakura rocked on his feet. "Well... I just remember you should probably sleep naked... and with another person in bed with you... like that..." Bakura waited for Ryou to either blush and yell no, or blush and not answer.

Ryou DID blush a little, but it was barely seen behind his already flushed face. He cocked his head, thinking.

"How does that help? I mean... Wouldn't that make the other person more like to get infected, too?"

Bakura shook his head, "No... You sweat it out... the alternative is... er..." Bakura didn't want to finish that sentence.

Ryou opened his eyes slightly to look at Bakura, frowning slightly* "What is it? Tell me, please, I'd do anything to feel better..."

Bakura stuttered for a moment before tingeing pink. "S-sex... you sweat it out either way..." Bakura couldn't help but answer Ryou... those eyes! Those doe eyes! He couldn't hide anything from Ryou!

Ryou's eyes widened slightly. "O-oh..." The blush behind his fever was visible now and he looked down at the sheets. He honestly was not sure what to say to that. What could he say, really? 'Oh, yes, just for the fever'? 'Yes, please!'? 'I'm sorry but I don't think I'm ready for that yet'?

"S-sorry, I just... I don't think I'm ready for that yet. It's nothing against you! I'm... just not ready."

Bakura nodded. "That's why I suggested the first one. I didn't think you'd do the... second one." Bakura said, not making eye contact with Ryou. "I'm not upset, I wasn't even really hopeful, I knew you'd say no to the second one... That's why I didn't want to do it. The first one's not as awkward as it sounds really... and clearly you don't have a problem with me seeing you naked..." Bakura emphasized his point by gesturing with his eyes to Ryou's exposed privates, then back up at Ryou's face.

Ryou nodded, relieved. "Good, I didn't want you to be upset..." When Bakura pointed out the naked part, Ryou blushed even more, but didn't move to cover himself. "I-I guess not... I'll try the first option." He slowly sat up and removed the loose shirt, tossing it over to Bakura, then smiling softly at him. "Thank you. For everything."

Bakura started stripping himself as well. He smiled at Ryou. "Of course Koi, anytime." When Bakura had finished taking off his clothing, he smirked at Ryou, who was now staring with interest at Bakura's cock. "Stare all you want... I'm all yours..."

Ryou squeaked softly in embarrassment when he was caught staring, looking away quickly. "S-sorry..." Ryou swallowed, still thinking about how well-endowed Bakura's length was.

"Don't apologize, like I said, I'm all yours." Bakura crawled into bed with Ryou, their skin touching pleasantly. Bakura kissed Ryou's forehead and smiled. "I love you Koi," He said.

Ryou smiled back, liking the closeness, but still a little embarrassed. He was, after all, naked in bed with another man. His father would shun him if he saw him now... But that didn't matter right now. What mattered right now was that Bakura was close and the soft warmth was covering him again like a blanket. His eyes began to droop again, finally drifting closed after a while.

Bakura smiled, watching his little light drift off. Unfortunately for Bakura... horniness soon followed. _NOW?_ He yelled at himself_. RA DAMMIT!_ Just the thought of Ryou naked next to him made him harder. He wasn't going to do anything to Ryou, no way, he wouldn't hurt Ryou like that ever. But he couldn't very well jack off... So he groaned in frustration, hoping it would just go away.

But it only got harder.

Somehow that groan penetrated through to Ryou's mind, waking him up. "Bakura, is something wrong?" He frowned, mind still foggy from the fever and sleep. Something was poking his leg...

Bakura froze. "It's nothing!" He blurted, scooting away from Ryou, so his hard- on wasn't pressed against him.

Ryou frowned, moving closer again. "If it was nothing, then you wouldn't be scooting away." His eyes were still closed. "Tell me."

Bakura stayed silent, he wasn't going to tell Ryou that he was fucking horny as hell! Ryou might get scared again! So he kept quiet.

He opened his eyes halfway and looked at Bakura. "Please tell me what's wrong." Concern was all over his face.

"I can't... it's..." Bakura almost squeaked when Ryou's leg brushed up against it again, the yami bit his lip to keep from moaning out at the touch.

Now Bakura was biting his lip... He looked almost pained. Ryou opened his eyes all the way, two brown orbs filled with concern.

"Please tell me. I want to help any way I can."

Bakura sighed. "I just don't want you to freak out and leave_." How do you NOT feel it? You're pressed up against it!_ Bakura thought, holding in another moan.

"Bakura, I'm not going to leave. If I tried to walk right now, I'd fall over." Ryou laughed a little. Then he finally noticed something very warm pressing against his leg... Frowning, Ryou looked under the covers and turned bright red. "Oh."

"Bakura, I'm not going to leave. If I tried to walk right now, I'd fall over." Ryou laughed a little. Then he finally noticed something very warm pressing against his leg... Frowning, Ryou looked under the covers and turned bright red. "Oh."

Ryou bit his lip. He wanted to help, but... Not sex.

"I-is... Can I help without sex?" He swallowed, looking away.

"I-if you want..." Bakura said slowly. He wouldn't make Ryou do anything he wasn't comfortable with.

Slowly, Ryou reached one hand down between them and touched it softly, making it twitch. He gently ran his fingers over it just wanting Bakura to feel good. He was pretty unsure of himself, still...

Bakura gasped sharply, he never imagined Ryou's hand _there._ Well that's a lie... he _did_ imagine it, he just never imagined it would happen! And Ra it just felt so good...

Hesitantly, Ryou wrapped his hand around the whole thing, beginning to pump it slowly up and down. His face was still bright red, but he was slowly becoming more confident. He could tell that this was making Bakura feel really good, and that made him happy.

Bakura moaned, restraining from bucking into Ryou's hand. Pleasure increased with Ryou's pace and Bakura's mind went numb with pleasure.

He bit his lip again. Bakura was making noises... And that was pretty sexy. His yami had his head thrown back, his cheeks flushed. That sight was just plain hot. Ryou moved his hand faster, determined to make Bakura feel even better.

Bakura moaned louder, Ryou's hand was so soft and he was moving faster and Bakura could barely think anymore. He could feel himself getting close, but he couldn't form the words to warn Ryou about it.

The skin under his hand was throbbing. It felt like it would be painful, so Ryou began moving his hand as fast as he could to relieve Bakura of this pain.

"OH MY GOD!" Bakura shouted, releasing hard and fast all over the sheets, panting as he calmed down.

Ryou pulled back his hand and looked at the whitish fluid on it.

"I should, um, go wash my hands..."

Bakura nodded wordlessly, still coming off his sex high. The yami felt very sleepy but he wanted to wait until Ryou got back... that way he'd have a kitten to cuddle.

Ryou carefully stood up so as not to get dizzy again. He leaned on the wall for support and made his way to the bathroom. When he got there, he quickly washed his hands and made his way back to his room.

He climbed back into bed, immediately laying in Bakura's release on accident. His eyes widened as he felt the sticky wetness under him. "Um..."

Bakura looked down... "Aw shit..." The yami sighed and picked Ryou up, carrying him into the bathroom and turning the tub on quickly.

When it was warm, he set Ryou in the tub. "Sorry." He muttered.

"I shoulda moved..." He said, getting up. "I'll be back, I'm going to go clean it up." And Bakura left the bathroom.

"It's fine, really..." Ryou sighed, watching Bakura leave. He wondered if Bakura was angry...

He began washing himself, humming softly. He poured his vanilla shampoo onto his hand then lathered it into his hair.

Bakura stripped the sheets from Ryou's bed, bringing them downstairs to the laundry room... which he wasn't allowed to operate, so he just set them down on the washing machine and decided Ryou could stay in his room.

Bakura's room had better A/C circulation than Ryou's, because Bakura had demanded it. Ryou could be under the covers and not overheat in there. Bakura walked back into the bathroom and sat down next to the tub.

He was still washing his hair when Bakura came in. The scent of vanilla was all around him, soothing him. His eyes were closed and he was just generally enjoying his bath, not even noticing his yami.

Bakura stared forward, also enjoying the vanilla. He began tracing Ryou's face with his eyes, noticing just how childlike the boy really was.

"Absolutely adorable." Bakura breathed softly.

Ryou's eyes opened, hearing Bakura's voice but not hearing what he said. He blinked and looked over at him.

"How long have you been sitting there?" he asked, blushing a little.

"Not very long," Bakura sighed, reaching over to brush hair out of Ryou's face. "I just sat down, surprised you didn't hear the door open." The yami leaned back, steam rising from the tub and filling the room.

Ryou smiled at him. "Okay. And I was off in my own little world, I guess." The steam had mostly cleared his sinuses and he could breathe normally again. He leaned back in the water to rinse his hair.

Bakura watched Ryou carefully, respectfully keeping his eyes on Ryou's face. Ryou already looked and sounded better than yesterday, but that also meant Ryou would be back at school soon. Bakura sighed, he couldn't have the boy all to himself. The Pharaoh would have a major fit if Ryou stopped showing up to school. And that just makes things all the harder for Bakura.

Then someone knocked on the door. Bakura stood and went to put on some pants.

"I'll be back Ryou." Bakura said, walking down to the front. He opened the door, to find the person he'd been least excited to talk to.

Yami Yugi.


	4. Chapter 4

The serene smile never once left Ryou's face. The bath was just the right temperature and it felt heavenly. He could just take a nap... He frowned slightly as Bakura left. "Okay..." 'Don't leave for too long...' was what he wanted to say, but couldn't.

Outside, Yami waited at the door, his hikari with him. Both were worried about Ryou; they thought Bakura was holding him captive and not allowing him to go to school. The thief was probably beating the poor boy just for his amusement, or raping him to relieve his own needs. The hikari was probably miserable! He must be! Nobody on this earth could stand one minute with Bakura, and poor Ryou had to live with the irritable spirit!

As soon as Bakura answered the door, Yami spoke up.

"Where is Ryou?"

Bakura groaned. "Why you of all people?" The pale yami sighed. "If you must know he's upstairs taking a bath, he's feeling a lot better today and might come back in a couple of days. Now do you mind? I'd rather not have to leave him alone when he's sick."

"We'd like to see him. Just to check on him." Yami's violet-crimson eyes held suspicion and caution, but not much else. Yugi peeked out from behind his yami and looked at Bakura.

"We're really worried about him," the smaller said. "Ryou NEVER gets sick."

Bakura looked at the smaller starfish and rolled his eyes. "He does too... just not normally on school days. I'll admit, him getting sick was my fault. But I am trying to make it better. If you really must disturb the peace come in, just wait for him to finish bathing." Bakura stepped aside letting the two boys in the house.

_This'll be a fun little visit!_ Bakura thought sarcastically, and made his way upstairs.

"Koi, Yugi and the annoying Pharaoh are here. When you get finished, come downstairs okay?" Bakura said, standing in the doorway.

Yami and Yugi entered the house. The place was nearly spotless. _Tomb Robber must make Ryou clean, too. Even while he's sick,_ Yami thought, shaking his head. Yugi looked around.

"This is a nice little place," the smaller boy said. The Pharaoh just nodded, sitting down on a little couch, Yugi right next to him.

Ryou didn't hear Bakura do to the fact that he had fallen asleep in his bath. His head rested on the edge of the tub, his eyes closed peacefully and his face completely relaxed.

Bakura frowned and walked over to Ryou, shaking him lightly. "Koi wake up, it's not safe to fall asleep in the tub." Bakura said, his mouth at Ryou's ear. _If he doesn't wake up, I'll just carry him back to my room._ Bakura thought.

Ryou stirred a little but his eyes didn't open. His skin got goosebumps from Bakura's voice so near his ear, even while half-asleep. He mumbled, "Five more minutes..." sleepily, not wanting to wake up.

Bakura sighed and lifted Ryou from the tub, carefully wrapping a towel around the boy. "Guess my bed could get a little wet..." He said, carrying Ryou into his room and laying the boy on the bed. Bakura pulled the covers up and went back downstairs.

"Kid fell asleep in the tub... He's in my room right now. You can go up if you'd like, not like me saying otherwise will stop you anyway." Bakura grumbled the last bit out.

The bed smelled like Bakura. It reminded him of Bakura. Ryou inhaled the wonderful scent from the sheets, smiling and snuggling into them. This would be heaven if only Bakura were here...

Yami nodded and headed towards the stairs with Yugi following behind. _Pfft, fell asleep. Yeah right. He probably drugged him or something so Ryou couldn't tell us what's really going on..._ They started up the stairs.

Bakura led them into his room, it was definitely colder than the rest of the house and Bakura walked over to Ryou. "See? He's fine!" Bakura said, his voice quiet as to not wake Ryou. Bakura reached down and pressed his hand to Ryou's forehead. "Still a bit warm, but fine." Bakura wanted them to go home, but until Ryou woke up to tell Yami that NOTHING was going on here, Bakura might as well be on trial.

Yugi shivered a little in Bakura's room. It was quite cold in there so he stood a little bit closer to Yami. Yami, however, was not impressed.

"How do we know that you didn't put him to sleep somehow? So he couldn't tell us anything?" With all the talking going on and with the touch of Bakura's hand to his forehead, Ryou stirred. He opened his eyes slightly, still groggy.

"Kura? What's going on? How did I get in here?" He snuggled deeper into the blankets for warmth and looked up a little, seeing Yugi and Yami. "Oh, hello." His voice was still weak from being sick and he was barely heard.

Bakura did hear Ryou and he looked at the small boy. "You fell asleep in the tub. Kinda not a smart thing to do. So I carried you back here, it's colder so you shouldn't be too uncomfortable." Bakura said, not really caring that he might sound... nice... in front of his enemy. "Yugi and Pharaoh-baka are here to see you Koi." Bakura smirked.

Ryou nodded at Bakura. "Thank you." He smiled weakly. He then turned his attention to his friends. "Did you need something?"

Yami shook his head, "Not really, we just wanted to check on you." He had noticed that Bakura called Ryou, "Koi" but didn't say anything about it... Though his hikari did.

"'Koi'?" he asked, with a confused face. "Are you two... together?"

Bakura nodded. "Yeah. Is that... a problem?" He noted the slight irritation on Yami's face and smirked. "I don't see any problems with it. What about you Ryou?"

Yami growled slightly. If those two were together, Ryou was being forced.

"N-not a problem," Ryou said, blushing. He was unused to the thought of a relationship and wasn't sure how his friends would handle it.

"See? Nothing wrong here. I've been on my best behavior!" Bakura said, snickering slightly. "Is that what you came here for Yami? Or do you want proof we're together?"

"We came to make sure Ryou's okay." Yami squinted his eyes. Proof would be nice. After all, Bakura could be lying... "Prove it then."

Without actually being asked to, Ryou slowly sat up and stood on his knees on the bed, shuffling over to Bakura, while still keeping the blanket around him. He placed his hands on either one of Bakura's shoulders and pulled him down for a kiss with his lips clamped tight so his yami wouldn't get sick.

Bakura kissed back, Ryou's lips were really soft so it wasn't hard to melt into the boy fast. Pulling back he held Ryou's hand and looked at the ex-pharaoh. "Enough proof for ya?"

Ryou smiled also. Just a simple kiss with Bakura was amazing, he couldn't imagine what it would feel like French kissing him...

Yami was shocked. Ryou had been the one to make the first move. Unable to do or say anything else, he just nodded and turned to leave the room. Yugi smiled at them before following Yami and calling back, "I'm happy for you guys!"

Once they were gone, Ryou turned back to Bakura.

"I love you."

Bakura smiled softly. "I love you too. Though I am a little surprised he was so quick to drop it... he thought I drugged you or some such crap. I can't work the washing machine, how the hell would I work drugs?" Bakura said, rolling his eyes. "Pharaoh-baka is too stubborn, but I guess whatever makes you happy... and safe... makes him somewhat happier with the situation."

Ryou giggled at his yami. "When I'm not sick anymore, I'll teach you how to work the washing machine." He suddenly felt a little dizzy. Frowning, he thought about what would be causing his dizziness out of nowhere...

You get dizzy when you start to get dehydrated... His eyes widened slightly. He hadn't been taking in any fluids! "Bakura?" he asked softly.

"Could you please just get me some water to drink? I think I'm starting to become dehydrated..." He swallowed, suddenly feeling like his throat was really dry. "It won't be good if that happens..."

Bakura's eyes widened, he knew full well what happened when you became dehydrated. It happened often in the desert especially when it was very hot. The pale yami nodded and ran downstairs, quickly filling a glass of water before going back to his room.

Ryou took it gratefully. "Thank you so much, Kura." He slowly sipped it knowing that if he just downed it, it would make his stomach more upset.

Bakura watched Ryou drink it. _How could I of all people forget water? STUPID!_ Bakura thought, mentally bashing himself, he laughed silently. The Pharaoh would probably make up some story about how he was purposefully keeping water from Ryou, when in reality, Bakura had just been forgetful. Come to think of it... the Pharaoh had skipped right over the possibility of shadow magic... Bakura frowned in thought. Was Yami really being as forgetful as Bakura... or was something else going on?

He looked over at Bakura who seemed to be lost in thought. Frowning slightly, he spoke.

"Bakura? Is something wrong?"

Bakura Looked at Ryou for a moment. "Don't you find it odd that he gave up so easily? He normally goes through every scenario... but he stopped. I think he's up to something." Bakura stated firmly, he was good at figuring out how people think, Yami had gone against what he normally does, Bakura had good reason for suspicion.

Ryou cocked his head. That was right... Usually Yami would stick around and ask loads of questions. But this time... He just left. At first Ryou thought it might be because Yami believed him and Bakura, but... That couldn't be it. He thought Bakura was keeping some sort of mental hold on Ryou, and that's what he would have thought about the kiss. That Bakura was still controlling his hikari's mind somehow.

"You're right." Ryou lowered his water. "He usually sticks around longer and even after that, he still doesn't believe us."

Ryou cocked his head. That was right... Usually Yami would stick around and ask loads of questions. But this time... He just left. At first Ryou thought it might be because Yami believed him and Bakura, but... That couldn't be it. He thought Bakura was keeping some sort of mental hold on Ryou, and that's what he would have thought about the kiss. That Bakura was still controlling his hikari's mind somehow.

"You're right." Ryou lowered his water. "He usually sticks around longer and even after that, he still doesn't believe us."

"That's my point! So why did he just leave? Yami's more for mutual punishment, you know that karma crap, what goes around comes around, do unto others as you'd want them to do to you or some such shit." Bakura looked at the floor, thinking heavily. "I can't figure it out... but he has to be up to something!"

Sighing, Ryou took one last sip of water then lay down. "Let's not worry about it right now, okay? I'm tired again." He unwrapped the towel from around himself and tossed it on the floor, vowing to himself that he would pick it up later. He burrowed deeper under the covers where it was nice and warm and waited for Bakura to lie down next to him.

Bakura nodded, taking off the pants he'd put on for his company, then crawled in next to Ryou, snuggling the boy. Bakura's skin was slightly cold from the air, but Ryou was so warm they sort of melted together. Both ends were pleasantly together, neither caring about their nudity or whatever the hell Yami was up to.

The door was banged on again, this time multiple voices were heard. Bakura ignored it, perhaps they'd go away in favor of thinking both had gone to sleep. It was no doubt that blasted Pharaoh with his pointless pep squad. Bakura wrapped his arms around Ryou protectively, drifting off with Ryou.

But the banging on the door didn't stop

Ryou cuddled as close as he could to Bakura, enjoying the coolness of his skin. Once again he was able to feel completely comforted in Bakura's arms. It felt nice and isolated there.

By the time the banging on the door started, Ryou was already fast asleep. The noise didn't wake him up, and neither did Bakura's arms snaking around him. He felt so peaceful and utterly blissful.

Outside was a whole lot less peaceful. Yami sighed as he watched Joey bang on the door. He was waiting to see if he would stop, but the blonde didn't seem to be running out of energy any time soon. With a sigh, Yami placed a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Just stop. I can open it with shadow magic."

Yugi had pleaded with Yami to leave them alone, but the ex-pharaoh was so certain that Bakura was controlling Ryou's mind. Yugi was pretty sure that Joey was only here because he couldn't decide on whether or not Bakura was legit in his words, and Tea... she was here because she was mad at Bakura for calling her a skank, which admittedly, she was.

Joey stopped hitting the door. "Fine you do it then." He said, taking a step back. The door was obliterated in seconds.

Yugi winced. "Please Yami, let's just go. Bakura seemed sincere enough." He begged one final time, knowing it would probably get the same answer as before. Tristan had already run inside with Joey, both of them had stopped to look around, their simple minds just loving how big the house was.

Yami strolled inside and immediately went for the stairs. "Yugi, you know we can't do that. I'm sure that's he's controlling Ryou's mind and only one thing can fix that." He prayed to Ra that he wasn't wrong. Because if he was... Ryou was going to be in a lot of pain when he proceeded with his plan. There was even a possibility of death for the boy. If that happened and Bakura wasn't restrained in time... Then it would be very like that there would be no living inhabitants of Domino City once Bakura got out. Without a hikari, a yami will completely succumb to darkness and eventually go insane.

He made quick work of the stairs, glancing behind himself to make sure the others were following. "Come on!" he whispered to the two dunderheads still downstairs. They were the most important part of his plan: The muscle. While he held Bakura back with shadow magic, they would hold Ryou down and he could expel the evil magic from his body. Tea and Yugi were right behind him. We're coming to save you, Ryou.

Joey and Tristan both looked at Yami and started heading up with him, they'd almost forgotten what they were there for. Yugi only followed so he could try and get Yami to stop, it didn't seem to work the first twenty-two times, but hey... twenty-third time's the charm right?

Bakura had fallen asleep, a peaceful look on his face, he wasn't smiling, but it was still peaceful, much like a restful moment after "certain" activities. He held Ryou to him gently, the pose would have looked harmless to most, but it was just the scene that would send Yami into a fit of rage with his accusations.

He entered the room to find the two curled up next to each other. Almost ON each other. He scowled slightly, thinking. _Ryou would never agree to this. He really is being forced._ This one pose just confirmed Yami's fears in his head. He could see Yugi about to ask him to stop again, but he silenced him over the mind link.

~Aibou, nothing you can say will make me stop. I'm following through with this no matter what.~ He silently approached the bed and, in one hand motion, had Bakura pinned with shadow magic, not even moving his body. If they had any luck, he wouldn't even wake up. Yami whispered sharply, "Tristan, Joey, get Ryou. Be gentle with him, he's still an innocent even if Bakura is controlling him.

Tea just watched. She was fairly sure this would bring Bakura to justice. His hikari was no longer going to be under his control.

Bakura felt something holding him down, he opened his eyes and growled. "What the hell are you doing?" He shouted at Yami.

Tristan and Joey had grabbed hold of Ryou, pulling him up into a sitting position.

"Holy shit... he's naked." Tristan cried.

"No duh buddy." Joey said. "I mean they were just doing it..."

"You idiots! If we had been doing it then where's the mess?" Bakura snarled, Ryou seemed to be waking up, but Bakura couldn't be sure, from his angle all he could see was Ryou's exposed waist, Tristan and Joey's waists, and out of the corner of his eye, the smug look on Tea's face. Bakura struggled, fighting back with what strength he had in the hold, but he was unable to break free.

Ryou was still groggy from sleep, with the fever making it harder for him to wake up than usual. Somehow someone was holding him up in a sitting position. He came to the conclusion that it wasn't Bakura; Bakura would be holding him close and he'd be able to feel his yami's warmth. So who...?

"I'm sorry, Bakura, but I can't just sit by and watch you do this to him. As for the mess, you could have cleaned it with shadow magic. This is necessary, Bakura." He waited for Tristan and Joey to get Ryou in a position to where he could get a good shot at him.

Tea was sure she wanted this now. Bakura was obviously upset and that made her happy. The constant teasing and shit... She was finally about to get revenge. And it would hurt him to not have puppet anymore. Yami seemed to be ready to rid the magic from Ryou.

Taking a deep breath, he stretched out his arm towards Ryou, palm facing the boy, and yelled, "MIND CRUSH!"

Ryou screamed.


	5. Chapter 5

Bakura couldn't breathe, he'd never heard Ryou scream like that. "RYOU!" Bakura screamed, fighting suddenly harder. He couldn't let this happen to Ryou, there was nothing inside him to purge except... their soul bond. If Yami got rid of that Ryou would die for sure.

"STOP IT! RA JUST STOP HURTING HIM! I'll do whatever you want! Just don't hurt him!" Bakura pleaded. "Whatever you want Yami, I'll do it, just please... PLEASE leave him alone!"

Pain filled Ryou's entire being. It felt like he was being ripped apart. His throat already felt raw from the agonizing screech ripping from it. What was doing this to him? At this moment, his other senses failed him. All he could see, hear, feel, smell, or taste was his own fear and pain. Nothing else registered.

The boy... was in pain? Usually the only thing in pain was the thing that put the darkness into the soul of a pure being. Unless... No! That can't be it! Yami couldn't be wrong! If he was wrong... Then there would be no way to stop it until the magic found something to destroy. Eyes wide in shock, both of Yami's arms fell to his sides. Ryou was still screaming... He was doomed.

Tea's eyes were wide, too. So... Bakura didn't have a hold on Ryou? Then... Ryou would be hurt and not Bakura.

Bakura thought quickly. Doing something he hadn't done in a long time. He took over Ryou's body, his own going limp. Ryou was panting in their soul room, out of pain, while Bakura stood in front of him and absorbed as much of it as he could. Now that he was in control like he used to be, the magic would find... and destroy... only Bakura.

And just as quickly as he came, Bakura was gone, sent to the shadow realm by Yami's magic.

Ryou couldn't do much else then lie there, shivering and trying to catch his breath in his soul room. Then there was another pain, worse than the last one. He felt like his soul had been ripped in two. Tears streamed down his face and he wished for nothing more than for Bakura to be there embracing him.

The guilt was overwhelming. Yami's face still held an expression of disbelief, but inside he was killing himself. He put Ryou through an intense amount of pain... And the boy looked like he was dead. "... No," he breathed. Yami let out a sigh of relief, then glanced over at Bakura. His shock and guilt found its way back as he saw Bakura's body disappearing into the shadows. _No... Ryou... He'll be devastated without Bakura._

Joey couldn't believe it, he let go of Ryou along with Tristan who both took a step back.

Yugi. Was. Furious.

"WHAT DID I TELL YOU? I SAID THIS WAS A BAD IDEA! I TOLD YOU THEY WERE JUST FINE! BUT YOU HAD TO GO AND RUIN IT!" Yugi screamed at Yami. "YOU NEVER LISTEN TO ME AND NOW YOU'VE FINALLY DONE IT! CONGRATULATIONS! HOW DOES SENDING BAKURA TO THE SHADOW REALM AT RYOU'S EXPENCE FEEL?" Yugi stomped out of the house. Yami could figure this one out for himself.

Ryou opened his eyes slowly, momentarily forgetting what had just happened. "Bakura?"

Yami bit his lip, squeezing his eyes shut and cringing a little at Yugi yelling at him. All of this was completely tearing him apart inside. He had not only ruined one person's life, but two. And now one had to live without the other. He couldn't find his voice. He couldn't talk to Ryou. He just... couldn't.

Joey took another step back, horrified in what he'd just helped Yami do. "Oh god Ryou, I'm sorry." He said, turning and running out the door, Tristan close behind him.

Ryou frowned slightly. What was Joey sorry for...? He thought about it for a moment before- "Oh." He gasped as the memories came flooding back. Bakura was gone. He sat up, ignoring his pounding headache. The tears fell onto the black sheets beneath him as he mourned the loss if his yami, his other half. He looked up at Yami with teary eyes and spoke just one word.

"Why?"

Yami looked even more pained than before. He knew he could never apologize enough, knew that he could never make it up to Ryou. So all he could do was whisper the words, "I'm so sorry, Ryou."

The hikari's personality seemed to change completely. "Yeah, well sorry doesn't cut it! Bakura is gone because of you! I HATE YOU!" At those words, he lobbed a pillow across the room at Yami. "I FUCKING HATE YOU! GET OUT! GET OUT RIGHT NOW!" Yami dodged the pillow then dashed out of the room. When he was gone, Ryou lay back in the bed, sobbing into the other pillow that remained. The one that was still warm from where Bakura was just moments ago.

Bakura woke up in a familiar place, the shadow realm, the cold sparked unpleasant memories. But it was for Ryou, and that alone brought a soft sad smile to Bakura's lips. It would hurt Ryou that he was gone, sure. But at least Yami would get off their... oops, Ryou's case. Without him there Ryou would need the pep squad to protect him from bullies like Bakura did, keep him healthy like Bakura tried to, keep him alive like Bakura always did. It was the reason he saved Ryou in Battle City, because he was worried that Ryou wouldn't make it. Bakura lay down in the swirling purple, and closed his eyes, the cold surrounding him.

Ryou refused to leave that bed. The only times he left were to get water from the bathroom and use the bathroom. He felt like an empty shell. Without Bakura... There was no point to his existance. Bakura was the only one who could make him happy. He cried sometimes, but most of the time he just lay in Bakura's bed. His fever seemed to be getting worse and he didn't have the will to even try to take care of himself. A week had gone by and he had not been out of that room. Food seemed useless to him now. He didn't feel hungry and he knew it would never fill the hole in his soul where Bakura used to be. He could feel his sanity slipping.

He held the same glass that he always used in his hands as he walked back to the bed. The water inside of the glass was room temperature and he could feel it through the material. Just as he was about to place it on the bedside table, it slipped out of his hands, crashing on the corner of the table and scattering pieces everywhere. Ryou froze, not moving from his spot. The black carpet and dull lighting made it hard to see where exactly all of the glass went. He slowly bent down and picked up a particularly big piece, a certain glint in his eye. Bakura wasn't here so he had no reason to live. Why not just do it? He argued with himself in his head about whether or not he should...

Death meant seeing Bakura again.


	6. Chapter 6

Even though he'd been sent to the shadow realm, he could still sense some things from Ryou, they were always faint and always the same depression. But then something stronger hit him.

Ryou wanted to die.

~N-no! Ryou don't you dare! Put it down!~ Bakura sent, using most of his strength. ~Y-you won't end up here, this is not th-the same as dying! I can't keep talking... I'm too weak... hang in there...~ Bakura had used up everything he had, he curled up once more and went to sleep.

Ryou could have sworn he heard Bakura's voice in his head. It told him not to do this... But he was sure it was all in his head. It had to be. Bakura couldn't be talking to him. Ryou was just crazy.

Even then he couldn't find the strength to do it. He set the sharp piece of glass on the bedside table and crawled back into Bakura's bed to cry his eyes out. Ryou had not noticed that his body was getting slimmer and starting to look malnourished. The boy refused to eat because that meant leaving the general area of Bakura's room. And with his glass now broken... He wouldn't get a whole lot of water. He'd have to get up each time to gather the water in his hands and drink it. He just didn't have the strength to do that. He blamed it on his seemingly worsening flu, but in reality it was because he wouldn't eat.

Bakura sensed that Ryou had gone to sleep, this was perfect, it meant having to do less to get inside Ryou's head.

So he visited him in his dream.

"Ryou!" He called out searching for the boy, his strength slowly depleting.

Even in his dreams the boy looked malnourished and felt weak... But that was Bakura's voice. He stood in the dead center of nothingness, grayish fog surrounding him. He pushed forward, calling back. "Bakura?"

Bakura ran to Ryou and looked sadly at the form before him. "Ryou... why are you doing this to yourself. I don't like seeing you for the first time in weeks like this." He bent down and held Ryou tightly.

Ryou clung to Bakura as tightly as he could - which wasn't very tight. He began to sob into Bakura's chest, unable to do anything else at the moment.

Bakura held Ryou like that, the frail shriveled body in his grip shook as it cried, and it was all Bakura could do to keep it still.

"Please Ryou... you have to listen. You can't live like this. You can't starve yourself. Look, if you promise to take better care of yourself, I'll look for a way to come back okay?"

He looked up at Bakura, tears still pouring out of his eyes and affecting his voice. "Y-you're just in my head. You can't be the real Bakura." Ryou's normally filled-out cheeks were hollow and he looked close to death. The boy just couldn't believe that his mind was finally gracing him with an image of Bakura while he was sleeping. This was the first time he had dreamed about his yami since he... left. Ryou refused to use the word 'died' or any word pertaining to death.

"Ryou, if you can feel my arms around you... it's not a dream. Please Ryou you have to promise me. I will come back, but only if you start taking care of yourself." Bakura had begun crying. "Please Ryou, I'm begging you to keep going, just a little while longer until I can find a way out. I don't have much more time, I'm running out of energy and need to hear you promise me before I go." Bakura sobbed into Ryou's shoulder. "Please..."

It wasn't a dream...? Bakura was actually there? He was there with him? Ryou sobbed harder.

"I'm sorry, Bakura! I will! I promise! I'll try and take care of myself. Please come back! I can't live without you!" By now he was almost shouting. He couldn't stand the thought of going on without Bakura, but if Bakura was coming back...

Then he could live a little while longer.

Bakura pulled back and smiled. "I have to go now, I have little energy left, I'll be watching Ryou..." Bakura kissed Ryou softly and faded from the boys head.

_Just gotta find it..._ Bakura thought, going to sleep to regain the energy he'd lost.

Continuing to sob, he nodded and kissed Bakura back until there was nothing there but air. For a moment he was alone in his dream, then he was back in reality, in Bakura's bed. He sat up, tears still streaming down his face from the dream. He had taken to wearing Bakura's clothes and currently he was wearing a dull gray shirt that was even bigger on him now that he was even skinnier than usual. He felt something wet on his shoulder and frowned, turning his head to look. There, on his right shoulder where Bakura had cried only moments ago, was a wet spot. That really was Bakura in his dreams. And Ryou had promised him he would live.

The boy stepped over the glass, went to the door, opened it, and after taking a deep breath, stepped out of the room.

~XOXO~

Yugi walked up to Ryou's door alone, the boy had been nonexistent over the past few weeks. Yugi only hoped that Ryou wasn't mad at him as well. Hesitantly Yugi knocked on the door.

Ryou heard the knock just as he reached the top of the steps. Whoever was there was going to have to wait, it would take a while to get down all of them in his condition. He took the first step down shakily, keeping a death grip on the railing.

_Is he awake?_ Yugi thought in worry, he didn't want to irritate Ryou so he didn't knock again, but he stood there, waiting for what seemed like forever until the door finally opened.

He was out of breath from his trek down the stairs as he opened the door. Ryou would be a sight to see, with his baggy shirt and a belt holding up just as baggy pants that hid his feet. His eyes widened slightly.

"Yugi?"

The small boy looked up at Ryou for a moment before hugging him. "I'm so sorry Ryou, I tried to stop him! I did! Yami wouldn't listen! I'm really, really sorry." Yugi whimpered into Ryou's baggy shirt, Ryou's appalling appearance could wait till later, right now Yugi needed to apologize to his friend (at least that's what Yugi hoped Ryou still was).

Slowly, Ryou hugged him back. "Calm down, it's not your fault. You tried to stop him and that's all you could do." He pulled back from the hug and gave a small smile- the first he'd given since Bakura left- to Yugi. "Come in. I was about to make something to eat."

Yugi smiled back, he was glad that Ryou wasn't angry at him. He walked inside noticing dust on several items of furniture, not to mention Ryou himself had thinned out dangerously.

"Ryou? How have you been? We're all worried about you." Yugi said, taking a seat in the dining room.

Ryou sighed, unsure whether he should lie to Yugi or not. "I've been... not well, Yugi." He sighed again, heading to the kitchen. "But I would really appreciate it if you told the others that I was feeling better. I'm not really in the mood to be barraged by questions." His gait was twitchy and jerky as if he hadn't walked in a while and he seemed unbalanced as he reached into a cupboard for some soup.

Yugi nodded. "Of course! I wouldn't do anything that would make it harder for you..." Yugi watched in concern. "Do you want help?" He asked.

"Thank you. And I've got it, but thanks." He offered another small smile as he took the can of chicken-noodle soup out of the cupboard, then began to reach for a bowl.

"You sure? You don't look like you're doing so well." Yugi said, concern soaking his voice.

Ryou sighed. "I've... I just haven't been on my feet lately. I'm trying to fix that." He managed to get the can down, then put the can in the automatic can opener. The boy turned his back to the counter and leaned on it. "I'm trying to get back on my feet and feel a little better."

"That's good, I don't think he'd be happy if you just stopped living altogether." Yugi said softly, hoping that mentioning Bakura wouldn't make Ryou too upset.

Ryou looked at the ground and smiled sadly. "I don't think he would either." The can made a popping sound as the lid came off, and Ryou turned to get it. He tossed the lid in the garbage and poured the soup into the bowl. He shakily took the few steps to the microwave and popped it in.

Yugi nodded, there wasn't much he could do, Ryou needed to take this slowly. Yugi could tell this was easily the first time Ryou'd been up in a long time, and the poor boy was taking it all at once. If he wasn't careful he could hurt himself.

"Yeah, I'm looking through some of the magic stuff that Yami has... I haven't found anything yet that can bring him back." Yugi said.

Ryou was sucking in his cheeks and looking at the floor. He sighed when Yugi told him this. "It's okay..." He could feel tears threatening his eyes again, but he held them back, glad for an excuse to turn away when the microwave beeped. He took the steaming bowl out and set it on the counter then went for a spoon. That's when he realized he hadn't offered Yugi anything. He turned to look at the other boy.

"Do you want anything?"

Ryou nodded, picking up his soup and heading back into the living room expecting Yugi to follow. Ryou swallowed when that question was asked. His only response was turning his head to give Yugi a sad look. "As I said before, I haven't been on my feet lately." That phrase seemed perfect since he meant it literally and not. Nodding at his friend's advice, the pale boy sat on the couch, glad to sit down again. He started taking slow bites of the soup.

Yugi frowned, he felt so bad about all of this. He followed his friend into the living room and sat down next to him, watching him take slow careful bites. Yugi smiled. "Well I'm glad you're trying again. What changed your mind?" Yugi asked curiously, a smile still plastered to his face.

Ryou nodded. "A dream. It... Made me realize what I was doing to myself. And made me realize that I had to do something to stop it." He lifted the bowl to his lips and sipped the broth from the bowl, the taste sending his body wild. When he lowered it he licked his lips, not wanting to waste one bit. Sure there was still some in the bowl, but he still didn't want to waste any. He looked at Yugi when his friend laughed. "What's funny?"

Yugi continued giggling. "W-well I got mad at Yami, so when he was sleeping I collected every article of leather clothing he owns and soaked them. Then I left them in the sun so they shriveled up... He's whining about it, because I won't let him go buy new clothes." Yugi laughed. "Though I think I might've gone too far..."

He giggled, the act making him feel better. He hadn't giggled since... Since Bakura. Still smiling a bit, Ryou sipped at the broth again, speaking after he put it down. "I think that's a pretty good punishment. You didn't go too far." After all, it was that bastard's fault that Bakura... Ryou sighed, trying to keep his demeanor positive around Yugi.

Yugi grinned, Ryou seemed to be feeling a lot better. "Seems like you really just needed a friend... Ra I'm starting to sound like Tea." Yugi laughed.

Ryou gave another small smile. "Mostly just a friend who wouldn't drown me in questions or obsess over... My current condition." He laughed a little with Yugi. "You're nothing like her. You're a lot more fun to hang out with and you don't bitch like she does."

Yugi gagged. "And she's a bit of a yami whore." Yugi slapped a hand over his mouth. "I can't believe I just said that... anyway, she's always after one of them, for the longest time she was after Yami, then Bakura, and now I think she's ACTUALLY trying for Malik!" Yugi rolled his eyes. "She's kinda... loose." Yugi said, careful not to use the other word again.

Ryou giggled at Yugi. "She's really been trying to chase after all of them? Does she ever stop? And I could've sworn she was going after you at one point." The pale boy brought the bowl to his lips again, getting the last bit of broth.

Yugi sighed. "I thought so too... until I realized she wasn't really into me at all... she just wanted to be closer to him and I..." Yugi looked at the floor sadly. "She's a leach, a loose, provocative leach..." Yugi had fallen in love with her, he didn't want to admit that he'd fallen for her trick that was placed there only to try and get her further to her goal, even though it didn't work, it still hurt Yugi pretty badly. "But hey, second chances right?"

Ryou's eyes were filled with sympathy as he looked at his friend. He sighed, setting the bowl down on the coffee table and scooting closer to Yugi to give him a hug, which he was sure that both of them desperately needed at the moment. "I'm sorry she hurt you." Even if Yugi didn't say it, Ryou could tell. Just the way his friend talked about the girl- he had a certain bitterness in his voice- hinted that she had done something terrible to him and he was still hurting over it.

"Thanks." Yugi said, hugging back. "Of course I could thank her too. I mean it hurts that she did what she did... but because of her... I'm pretty sure I love Yami, I'm furious at him right now, but I love him." Yugi smiled and pulled back. "She's also sorry for conspiring against you two, they all are, I told them to stay home because I was sure you didn't want to see any of them. Besides, they'd all ask unnecessary questions."

"No problem." Ryou smiled when Yugi admitted his feelings for Yami. "I'm glad that something good came out of it then." Ryou sat back where he was before, sighing. "I knew they'd be sorry, but... I just don't think I'm ready to forgive anyone yet. I mean, I don't mind you being here- I'm glad you are, actually- but the rest actually wanted to..." he couldn't finish that sentence. "I just don't think I can let that go just yet. I almost died and Bakura..." he couldn't finish that one, either. With a small sigh, he forced himself to his feet and picked of the bowl, wobbling a little bit and heading back towards the kitchen.

Yugi smiled. "The shadow realm and dead are two different things. He was sent to the shadow realm, he's still alive, he's just not here." Yugi explained, hoping to issue some relief to his friend.

Putting the bowl in the sink, Ryou continued talking to Yugi as he started back towards the living room. "I realize that now." The living room seemed so far away... He wasn't sure he could make it back... The boy bit his lip and pushed on towards the living room, struggling a little to stay upright.

Yugi looked at Ryou with worry, "Do you need help?" the small boy asked. "It looks like you might fall..."

Ryou bit his lip, wanting to accept the help, but not sure if he should... Then Yugi would feel how thin and light he really was. Sighing, he nodded. "Please? If you don't mind?"

Yugi smiled and stood up. "I wouldn't mind at all." He made his way over to Ryou, acting as a small crutch that supported just enough to get Ryou back to the couch. "It's worse than I thought it was huh? You've really been just laying in his room this whole time..." Yugi looked sad and worried.

Ryou smiled gratefully. "Thanks." He leaned on Yugi, then plopped onto the couch, relieved to be sitting. Ryou looked down, ashamed. "Yeah," he said quietly, "I have." He needed to get something off of his chest... Yugi is the best person to tell it to. "I uh..." he sounded nervous and ashamed. "I almost killed myself with a piece of broken glass."

Yugi looked shocked. "Ryou... when it's that bad you need to call someone. I'm just glad I came over when I did." Yugi smiled softly. "But you didn't hurt yourself, so I guess it should be alright now. Would it make you feel better if I stayed with you until he comes back? Not to impose or anything, I just wanna make sure you're alright."

"I just need to tell someone..." his voice was barely above a whisper. He sighed. Honestly, he kind of wanted to be alone, but he couldn't just tell Yugi no... Ryou swallowed and spoke, "Honestly, I'd kind of rather be alone for a bit. Get everything sorted out. But I wouldn't mind you stopping in to visit. Thank you for wanting to help."

Yugi nodded. "I understand. I'll stop by every so often then. It's no big deal, if you'd rather be by yourself, I totally get it." Yugi's smile never left his face.

Smiling at his friend, Ryou nodded. "Thanks for understanding. I just need some time to... get back to normal." He could still tell that his friend was worried about him, but he couldn't really blame him. Who wouldn't be worried about someone like him?

"Of course, it makes perfect sense to me that you'd want to." Yugi smiled, then huffed. "I'm sorry Ryou, Yami's throwing a fit, I have to get going. See you tomorrow?"

Ryou smiled a little more at his friend's understanding. "It's okay. See you tomorrow. And Yugi? Don't tell anyone else what I told you, okay? I'm trusting you."

"I wouldn't dream of telling!" Yugi said as he walked out the door, shouting one last "Bye!" Before he left.

Bakura was so cold, but he'd done it... he'd found a way to go back... now to wait until Ryou was asleep, then he would tell him. Out of exhaustion, Bakura collapsed there and fell asleep.

"Thanks! Bye! Good luck with Yami!" Still smiling a little, Ryou looked around his living room. It needed a good dusting.. but he just wasn't up to that right now. Right now he needed to rest. After his trip all the way down the stairs and just general walking, Ryou was exhausted. With a yawn, he laid down on the couch and closed his eyes.

Bakura invaded Ryou's mind as quickly as he could. "I found it! I found it!" He cried, picking Ryou's form up in his arms. "It was in front of us the whole time!"

Bakura was here again? This filled Ryou with joy and he happily held on to his yami. "What is it? Oh, and Bakura, I ate! And Yugi came to visit!" The boy smiled up at his yami with an adorable proud grin.

"That's excellent Ryou! I'm proud of you! Yugi came to visit? Was that the source of happiness I felt?" Bakura sat down and pulled Ryou into his lap. "Okay, so I went pretty far in, and came out pretty battered up, but I found it... it's hidden with those that know the Pharaoh's secret..." Bakura's grin widened.

Ryou just kept smiling. Bakura was proud of him! And he was here and everything was all right. Ryou frowned thoughtfully. "So, with his friends?" In his mind, Ryou had been referring to the "Friendship Gang" as "Yami and his friends". As of now, the only one of them he actually still considered a friend was Yugi.

Bakura grinned wider, "Nope... think harder. Not Yami's secrets, Pharaoh Atem's."

"It's... In Egypt?" Ryou guessed. Right now he didn't want to think. He just wanted to stay in Bakura's arms forever.

Bakura couldn't calm his excitement. "It's closer! The people who know his secrets are the tomb keepers right? And the current Tomb Keeper is...?" Bakura was laying it out now. He could barely take it, the placement was all so perfect!

Ryou's face lit up with excitement. "Marik!" He grinned. "So Marik can get you out of the shadow realm? Or is it Malik? Because they're both Tomb Keepers."

"Marik, he has access to all of the things he needs, do you really think he'd let his psychotic yami anywhere NEAR something that important?" Bakura laughed. "They know how to, so maybe you could ask Yugi if he'll bring Marik over." Bakura suggested. "If he doesn't already know, you should explain it to him, though I doubt he does, Malik's got him holed up in their apartment making enough noise for complaints, Anzu's wasting her time!"

Ryou nodded. "I can do that. Yugi's coming back over tomorrow, I'll call him before then and ask." He nuzzled Bakura's chest. "I can't wait to have you back."

Bakura smiled. "I've gotten stronger, that means the time I stay this time will be slightly longer than last time." Bakura pulled out a small marker he kept in his pocket for when he wanted to draw on sleeping people's faces, he grabbed Ryou's hand and wrote on the palm _"I love you Koi."_ Knowing full well it would be there when Ryou woke up as well.

"That's great!" Ryou grinned wider, leaning his head on Bakura's chest. He looked at his palm and smiled, looking back up at Bakura. "I love you, too. And I'm so excited that you get to come back. I thought I'd lost you forever."

Bakura held Ryou tighter against him. "I couldn't visit you earlier than before because I wasn't strong enough... the shadow realm sucks the energy out and makes you weak so you can die. But I'm fighting as hard as I can. Just for you."

Ryou could feel tears pricking at his eyes. "Just for me?" Bakura was fighting the shadow realm just for Ryou. This thought made him both happy and sad. He was happy that Bakura cared about him enough to do that, but sad that he actually had to go through all of that.

Bakura turned Ryou around and wiped a tear that fell from his hikari's brown eyes. "I'd fight it any time, just for you. And it doesn't matter as long as you're waiting on the other side."

Ryou smiled more. There was no doubt in his mind that Bakura really cared about him; he'd already proven that time and time again. This... This was too good to be true. But it was true. He looked up at Bakura. "Was it really you that one time? When I had the glass? Or was it my imagination?"

The boy shook his head. "I won't. Looking back on it now, I realize I scared myself... I just... I felt like without you I had no point in living." Ryou smiled sadly. "So hurry back before the urge hits again and I can't control myself."

"But dying wouldn't bring you to me. You'd just die, the shadow realm is like dying slowly, if you're strong enough to fight it then you should." Bakura sighed, "I can only go so fast... you need to hang in there. Please Ryou." Bakura was dead serious.

Ryou nodded and looked down. "I know that now. But before I just thought you'd died..." He looked back up at Bakura, worry in his eyes. "I can only try my hardest. The last time... It felt like I was fightling a losing battle until you talked. The depression almost won, but your voice gave me strength to drop the glass. Just... If I try again, tell me not to. Please."

Bakura nodded, "I can only use so much energy, and I use a lot of it to tell what you're feeling. I'll try but you need to get Marik and Malik there as fast as you can, both tomb keepers will be more powerful than just the one."

"I will. I promise." Ryou looked directly into Bakura's eyes. "I don't have the flu anymore... So... Will you kiss me? A real kiss?" Ryou's cheeks tinged a little pink at having to ask.

Bakura blinked, then shook his head. "I won't... because it won't be real. When I get out, I will. I have to go now Ryou... I'm getting weaker and need to rest." Bakura inhaled Ryou's vanilla scent just before leaving, he smiled as he faded out.

Ryou looked a little hurt but nodded. "Bye Bakura. I love you." He held onto his yami until the very last second. Like before, he sat there alone for a minute before waking up in his own body. He sat up and looked at the clock. _Eight isn't too late to call someone is it?_ he thought as he picked up the phone and dialed Yugi's number.


	7. Chapter 7

**Fuzzy: I'M SO SORRY! I TRIED TO FIX IT! BUT IT'S ALL SCATTERED! The story itself is pretty good, but it's really scattered and I tried to fix it… but I couldn't…**

"Yami don't you touch the phone!" Yugi cried as he picked it up. "Hey Ryou, what's up?"

"Hey Yugi. You're still coming over tomorrow right? I was wondering if you could bring Marik and Malik with. It's kind of important."

Yugi laughed. "Funny you should mention them, they just stopped by to annoy Yami some more. Wanna talk to 'em?"

Marik was busy taunting Yami in the background with some sort of sing-song chant.

Ryou grinned. "I'd love to. Put Marik on, please." Ryou waited for the Egyptian's voice to be heard over the phone.

Yugi handed the phone to Marik, "It's Ryou, he wants to talk to you."

Marik happily grabbed the phone. "Hey Ryou-chaaaaan, what's up?" Marik grinned, watching Malik take over the teasing for a while.

Ryou giggled a little. "Hi Marik. I was wondering if you could come over tomorrow? There's something important you need to do for me. Do you, uh... Do you know how to bring back a person from the shadow realm?"

"Ryou, that's serious magic you're asking about... why would you need to know that?" Marik's demeanor quickly changed from his normal happy self into a more serious person.

The noise in the room stopped.

Ryou bit his lip. "Well, Yami kind of sent Bakura to the shadow realm... And I want him back." Marik wasn't aware of them having a relationship yet and Ryou wasn't sure how he would act. He was never sure, but it always seemed like Bakura had had something with Marik before.

Marik went quiet and he dropped the phone, it hit the ground with a clatter and he turned around slowly to face Yami. "You... did... WHAT!" Marik started panicking. He lunged at Yami furiously punching at the ex-pharaoh's face, landing blows left and right, Yami was crying out loudly after each hit.

"YOU BASTARD!" Marik screamed, punching harder.

Yugi picked the phone up from off the ground. "I-I'm s-sorry Ryou... M-Marik's just..." Yugi was shaking so hard, he felt powerless to stop Marik from his fit of rage. "Malik! Stop him!" Yugi cried.

Ryou jumped at the sound of the phone hitting the floor since it was loud in his ear. He could hear Marik yelling and someone else crying out... What had he done?

Yami yelped with every hit, the tan boy's fists smashing harder and harder into his face. He supposed he deserved this... But he didn't really want it to happen.

Malik was watching with mild interest. He didn't particularly want to stop his hikari- he was throwing some great punches- but he figured that whatever Ryou needed must be important. Quickly, Malik bent down and grabbed both of Malik's arms, dragging him away from Yami. "Beat him up when you finish on the phone."

Yami held his bloody nose, his breath ragged. He didn't even know that Marik had that in him...

Yugi quickly returned to Ryou. "Marik just started beating Yami... I don't think I can come over tomorrow..." He said softly.

A gasp was heard over the phone from Ryou. "Oh no! Is he okay? And, I hate to sound selfish, but do you think Marik can still come? It's REAAAAAAAAAALY important."

Marik had started crying. By the time Malik had pulled him off of Yami, Marik dove into Malik's chest, crying softly. "Malik-sama... that bastard... he sent Bakura to the shadow realm!"

Malik's eyes widened a little, then he wrapped his arms around Marik, rubbing his back softly. "You should probably continue your conversation... It sounded important."

Marik nodded and walked back to the phone, taking it from Yugi.

"I'm sorry... I can't believe it. To answer your question, yes I do know how. But it's not a comfortable process Ryou, he's attached to your soul, so we'd be using it to pull him back. It's difficult and it takes a while..."

"It's fine, really... It was all a giant misunderstanding when it happened. And I don't care if it hurts or if it takes a while. I'd do anything to get him back." Ryou swallowed, sure that Marik was going to be even angrier when he saw his current condition.

Malik watched closely, listening.

Yami lay on the floor, blood still leaking from his nose and both of his eyes slowly turning black. Man that kid could punch...

Yugi bent down next to Yami, carefully cleaning the blood off of the man's face. Yugi was crying, Yami looked really hurt and it scared him what Marik could do.

Suddenly Marik's "serious shit" attitude was gone. "Wait... Are you and Bakura together? The way you're talking about it... just seems like..." Marik was grinning, he'd help Ryou if that's what Ryou wanted, but THIS was something awesome.

Ryou's face turned bright red. Was Marik upset or...? "Well, y-yes... Will you still come and get him out? Please?" Ryou really hoped Marik wasn't mad...

Yami looked up at Yugi. ~Thanks. I'm okay.~ He tried for a smile, but just ended making his face look worse.

Yugi giggled at Yami's failed attempt at a smile. Yugi helped Yami up and walked with him into the kitchen. "Still, those are pretty bad."

Marik squealed. "That's awesome! And of course I'll help you. That's kinda obvious. I can't believe it! I knew you liked him!" Marik was grinning like crazy, he could be such a girl when he wanted to.

The pale boy jumped a little at the squeal, then grinned. "Thanks. He came into my dream and told me that you could help. He also said to bring Malik since two Tomb Keepers would be better than one." Ryou blushed a little more.

Malik was watching his hikari jump up and down. His light could get so easily excited over things...

"Wow! A dream? He's fighting this hard! And yes... two are better than one... We'll be over tomorrow, but anyway... I can't believe it! I JUST CAN'T! IT'S TOO AWESOME! I guess that makes us alike huh?" Marik grinned.

Yami followed his light to the kitchen, holding one hand under his nose to catch any dripping blood. ~I know it looks bad, but I'll be okay.~

Yugi smiled. "I'm still going to help you." and the smaller boy bent down to open the sink doors, looking for the first aid kit.

"Yeah, he is. Will Malik agree to it?" Ryou was grinning again. He was going to get Bakura back! He giggled again at Marik freaking out, then stopped. "What do you mean 'alike'? Alike in what way?"

Yami smiled at Yugi softly, a little more successful this time. He would do anything for his light and he was pretty sure that feeling was mutual.

"I'm with my yami too, duh silly. I guess that just leaves Yugi and..." Marik's eyes narrowed, he turned around and Yami wasn't there anymore. "Where did that prick go?" He snarled.

Yugi came back up with a small case and grabbed one of the disinfectant wipes, beginning to clean off the small cuts.

Ryou let out a relieved breath. "That's great!" He frowned, hearing Marik looking for Yami again. "Marik? Are you still there?" he asked, hoping to distract his friend.

"Yeah, I'm still here... looking for that bastard..." He scanned the room, his eyes murderous. "Look we'll be there tomorrow... I have to go choke a bitch. Bye Ryou!" And Marik hung up and went off in search of Yami.

The former Pharaoh winced slightly at the stinging, but slowly relaxed. ~Thank you, Aibou.~

Yugi continued. "Anytime!" He said, giving a quick smile before grabbing some bandages from the kit and placing them carefully over the cuts.

"OH PHARAOH!" Marik called entering the kitchen. "Guess what I'm done doing? Now that I'm done I have free rain..." Marik was already cracking his knuckles.

Yami froze when he heard Marik's voice. ~Please, Yugi, don't let him hurt me again!~ Panic was heard, even through the link.

Yugi was just as terrified of Marik as Yami, Marik could plow him over easily... granted most people could, but this would hurt more.

"P-please M-Marik... don't hurt Y-Yami!" Yugi stuttered timidly, he wasn't good at confidence, that's what Yami was here for.

"I'm not listening to you! I CAN DO WHAT I WANT! No one here is going to stop me!" Marik shouted, making Yugi whimper and flinch.

~Yugi, if he tries to hurt you to get to me, run, okay?~ As much as Yami wanted to avoid being hurt, he couldn't let Yugi get hurt for him.

Malik stood leaning against a wall, just watching with a lazy smile. He wasn't going to stop Marik. His hikari was free to do whatever he wanted, especially to the Pharaoh.

Marik twitched with anger, closing in on the two of them.

"N-no!" Yugi said more confident this time. He took a deep breath. "Marik No!" He shouted it louder than he thought he could.

Marik stopped and blinked, he too was surprised by the outburst. Marik sighed. "Fine... C'mon Malik-sama let's go home." And Marik turned around and stomped out of the kitchen angrily.

A gasp escaped Yami's mouth as Yugi shouted. His hikari was... Standing up for him? But that was his job as a yami! Maybe, just maybe, the roles could be reversed sometimes. And that was okay.

Smirking, Malik followed Marik. There was a newfound bit of respect for the Pharaoh's runt after that little episode, the little one could actually stand up for himself.

Yugi waited until Marik and Malik had left to turn around and start crying into his yami's chest, he had gotten so scared he just couldn't hold it anymore... So he cried.

After his display of courage, crying was the last thing Yami thought Yugi would do. So he patiently held his Aibou, whispering words of comfort in his ear. "Shh, it's okay, that was amazing..."

After he'd calmed down, Yugi looked up at Yami, wiping his eyes with an adorable pouty expression.

Yugi looked so cute in that one moment, Yami couldn't stop himself. He pecked his hikari on the lips, then froze, realizing what he just did. "I-I'm sorry..."

Yugi looked at Yami in shock and moved his hand up to touch his lips, he smiled brightly. "Don't apologize. I like you... like that." Yugi looked down, his face bright red.

Yami was in shock. Yugi... loved him, too? "Really? You do?" He grinned and pulled Yugi into a tight hug.

Yugi hugged back immediately, he hadn't been like this with anyone before, not really anyway. It made him feel wanted and needed, and he liked it.

Grinning, Yami placed a kiss on Yugi's forehead. "I... love you."

"I love you too." Yugi said, ironically he'd have to thank Marik for this later... if he hadn't attacked Yami, Yugi wouldn't have stood up for him, and then they wouldn't be here like this.

"Uh, Yugi... Some of my cuts are still bleeding..." Yami hated to ruin this moment, but he didn't want to bleed all over his aibou... Especially now that he knew he loved him.

"Only a little Yami, I think your nose stopped bleeding... but it might be broken." Yugi reached up carefully and touched the bridge of Yami's nose.

"Ow." Yami flinched a little at the touch. "I never knew Marik could punch like that... Did you?" He could see worry in Yugi's eyes, probably about the rough state he was in. It couldn't look that bad, could it?

Yugi shook his head, "I didn't know he could hold that much anger, I mean I knew he didn't like you... but I didn't think he could do something like that."

The former pharaoh sighed, looking down. "I kind of deserved it. That doesn't mean I liked getting punched in the face... But I did kind of deserve it." As much as he hated to admit this, he felt he had to. Maybe then Yugi would stop being mad at him... and let him buy new leather clothes.

"He probably enjoyed watching Marik beat the shit out of me." Yami sighed, knowing that's something that Malik would do.

Yugi nodded, "Still... it surprised me."

Yami let out a little laugh. "Yeah, me, too."

"We'll take you to the doctor tomorrow... I'm sleepy right now..." And Yugi turned to go up the stairs to his room.

After standing there for a moment longer, Yami followed, heading upstairs. He was almost to his room when he realized something_. What_ _if Marik comes back? If I'm asleep, then I'll be vulnerable... But only if I'm alone._ That was another thing Yami didn't want to admit: he was scared. With a deep breath, he turned and headed towards Yugi's room.

Yugi was already in his bed when Yami walked in, he sat up and looked at the taller boy. "Something wrong?" he asked.

"I um... I don't want to sleep alone..." Yami bit his lip, afraid of rejection. Afraid that Yugi would find that funny and send him away like a child.

Yugi giggled, "You can sleep in here tonight, I don't mind."

Yami perked up, then climbed into bed next to Yugi. "Thank you," he whispered.

"You're welcome." Yugi mumbled, falling asleep. Yami's warmth and presence made Yugi more comfortable than he thought, he'd imagined it to be sort of awkward, but it wasn't.

Slowly, hesitantly, Yami wrapped his arms around Yugi. Having him there was comforting. It made him feel a bit safer even if he, as a yami, was supposed to be the one protecting Yugi. That didn't matter at the moment. His eyes drooped and he gave in to sleep.

~XOXO~

Ryou swallowed nervously. "Look Marik, don't do anything you'll regret!" But the Egyptian had already hung up. With a sigh, he forced himself to sit up and he glared at the stairs. They were the only thing between him and Bakura's bed. Getting shakily to his feet, he proceeded towards the dreaded things, determined to get back upstairs.

He was about halfway up the stairs when he was out of breath... Starving himself really hadn't been a good idea. Yet he pushed on, the thought of Bakura's scent surrounding him as he slept egged him on and he finally reached the top. He wanted to collapse then and there, but he HAD to make it to Bakura's room.

Ryou stumbled into Bakura's room. Once again, he avoided the broken glass and climbed onto the black sheets that had been his home for the past... How long had it been? He wasn't sure, but it felt like months.

He snuggled into the blankets that still smelled like his yami and fell fast asleep.

~XOXO~

The next morning Marik was walking to Ryou's house with Malik next to him. "I don't know about this Malik-sama... what if it hurts Ryou too much?"

Malik shrugged. "The kid wants it. If he's willing to do anything, then we should let him."

Marik nodded, "I just don't want to lose him too." They reached the house and Marik knocked on the door.

Malik sighed. If this boy was lost then his hikari would be in an emotional pit for days, weeks, or maybe even months. That usually meant no sex. Unless it was one of those times where he wanted more sex to make him feel better... But usually then he would cry afterwards. He sighed again, unsure of what exactly to hope for.

Ryou stretched, waking up. The soft sheets around him tried to lull him back to sleep, but he knew that he had to get up, Marik and Malik were coming today. He needed to eat something to give him a little more strength for what was to come. With a yawn, he forced himself up and out of bed and headed to the dresser he had been retrieving Bakura's clothes from. He pulled out the last shirt and pair of pants in there; the shirt was black and the pants were just a pair of crimson baggy sweatpants. He sighed and put them on after stripping himself of the other clothes. He was grateful for the elastic band on the sweatpants; it tightened so he didn't have to wear a belt with them. After getting dressed, he stepped into the hallway to start making his way downstairs. His stomach rumbled and he smiled.

_Halfway there... _thought Ryou as he shakily made his way down the stairs. He felt a little better compared to yesterday, but there wasn't much improvement. He heard the knock on the door and hoped that if it was Marik that he would wait... There was no rushing this process. If he tried going too fast, then he might fall. Finally making it to the bottom, Ryou moved as fast as he could to the door, breathing heavily. He slowly opened the door, scared of how Marik would react to how he looked.


	8. Chapter 8

Marik froze when he saw his friend, "Ryou... what did you do to yourself?" The shirt he wore hung off his shoulder, Ryou's cheeks were slightly hollow and his arms long and lanky. Marik guessed he was wearing Bakura's clothes, which made the boy look slightly adorable, but his body was so thin, it was a shock to Marik that Bakura's shirt didn't slip around the boys' ankles.

Looking down and biting his lip, Ryou just stepped back and opened the door wider to let them in. He knew that Marik would be shocked, he just wasn't sure how shocked.

Even Malik was kind of surprised. What he had seen of Ryou looked nothing like this, and the boy didn't seem the type to do this to himself. Shaking his head slightly, he walked inside.

Marik walked inside, even the house was un-kept, dust everywhere and everything looked unused. Marik was worried about Ryou, the way the boy looked... it didn't seem like Ryou would make it.

_I have to believe he can though, I don't want to have a lack in faith, he is my friend and he said he'd be fine..._ Marik sighed and pulled the rod out from behind him. "Are you absolutely sure about this Ryou?

The boy watched Marik look around. He knew that he'd be noticing every little thing that was abnormal. Ryou nodded. "I'm positive. Just... can I eat something first?" His stomach growled loudly.

Malik examined a vase of dead flowers. Even their petals had dust on them. This place looked as if it hadn't been touched in months.

Marik nodded, "It'd be better if you did eat first. More energy that way." He said, biting his lip at the sheer appearance of the place.

Ryou nodded, too, and started walking towards the kitchen. The way he walked was still shaky and unbalanced, but he was getting used to it. He could tell Marik was unnerved about how everything looked, but he tried to ignore it. As he made his way to the kitchen, he thought about what exactly he wanted to eat.

~He looks pretty bad, huh?~ Malik asked over the mind link. ~Are you still sure you want to go through with this today? We could ask him to wait a little longer. Ask to at least wait until he's not so... frail.~

Marik nodded, ~I thought about asking... but if Bakura's fighting death as hard as I think he is... he won't last much longer, you'll have to go get Bakura from the shadow realm while I stay with Ryou to make sure this doesn't kill him.~

~Yeah. Marik... Be careful okay?~ Malik scowled at how.. caring he sounded. He just didn't want anything to hurt Marik... And that included one of his hikari's friends being hurt.

Once again, Ryou decided on soup. Almost everything else would be expired by now. He repeated the same process as yesterday: can opener, bowl, microwave. After his meal was completed, he made his way back into the living room and sat down with his soup, looking at it hungrily as he waited for it to cool.

Marik smiled brightly, ~Don't worry about me, I'll be fine.~ He glanced over at Ryou. "Don't try eating that all at once okay? You don't look like you've eaten much..." concern was dripping from Marik's tone.

Ryou smiled reassuringly at Marik. "I know. I'm taking things slow." He took a bite of the soup, relishing the taste and closing his eyes.

"I just don't want you to hurt yourself." Marik said, sitting next to Ryou.

Ryou sighed. "I've already done that. This is me trying to fix it," he said, taking another bite.

From across the room, Malik sneezed from the dust on a bookcase he was examining.

"Good, I don't like seeing you like this at all!" Marik said, somewhat childishly. He turned around and looked at Malik, rolling his eyes.

At that, Ryou cringed a bit. Fearing he angered his friend, he spoke softly, "I'm sorry." He got another spoonful of soup and ate it.

"What? Am I not allowed to sneeze?" Malik protested.

"Don't apologize I'm not mad or anything, just take better care of yourself." Marik smiled, then turned to Malik. "I wasn't expecting you to sneeze so adorably." He laughed.

"I've just started trying to do that." Ryou sighed. He continued eating, barely listening to what Marik and Malik were saying.

Malik frowned, growling. "I am NOT adorable in ANY way!"

Marik giggled. "You are too! Don't you think Ryou? Wasn't that adorable?" Marik was pleading Ryou with his eyes to help him in his cause.

Ryou smiled a little. "It was pretty adorable to me." This made Malik growl again, stomping his foot.

"I am NOT!" Shadow magic crackled in the air around him as his anger flared.

Marik put on an adorable scared face. "Malik-sama, don't get mad. It just means we like you." He sniffled once and the look on Malik's face softened. Marik had won this time.

Malik couldn't be mad at that face... And when Ryou played along and made a similar face, his anger crumbled. He couldn't very well hurt them; Marik was his hikari and Ryou wasn't well... With a sigh, he started to turn back to examining things then sneezed again.

The soup was almost done and Ryou was sad about this... It had tasted so good, too..

Marik looked at Ryou's bowl. "Good, as soon as you're done... we can bring Bakura back." Marik smiled, knowing that would make Ryou happier.

That did make Ryou happier. He began scooping the last bit of it up to eat.

Another sneeze came from Malik's side of the room. "RA DAMN THIS FUCKING DUST!" Ryou winced at the yelling and felt a bit guilty that Bakura was going to come home to a messy house.

Marik sighed. "If you hate it so much... send it to the shadow realm! Ra you're so forgetful!" Marik giggled again, noticing the slight smile Ryou had. "You're so cute Ryou-chan!"

He only smiled because those two bickering was quite funny... and kind of cute. His cheeks tinged a little pink at Marik's compliment. Ryou drank the rest of the broth from the bowl, then set it on the coffee table. "Thank you."

Send all the dist to the shadow realm... not a bad idea. Scowling at his own forgetfulness, he held his hands out and focused on the little particles of dust: his new nemesis. The room was momentarily crackling with shadow magic before all of the dust was gone.

Brown eyes filled with wonder as he stared around the room. The place looked cleaner now. Bakura wouldn't have to come home to a dirty house!

"Anytime Ryou!" Marik smiled, then stood, twirling the Rod in his fingers. "You ready?"

Ryou nodded. "What exactly do I have to do?"

"Well, for starters, just stand still. It'll hurt a lot and you'll have the urge to kill yourself, but no matter how much you want to, don't. I'm staying out here to make sure it won't happen. Malik's going in after Bakura." Marik held the rod up. "Got it?"

His eyes widened a little. So more urges to kill himself? Great. This will probably only make his depression worse... that is until Bakura is out. Taking a deep breath, Ryou nodded. "I'm ready."

Malik strolled over to them, ready for his task.

Marik pointed the Rod at Ryou, a small light erupted from the eye in the center, creating a beam that connected itself to Ryou's chest, it shouldn't have hurt him, but Ryou stumbled anyway. A small portal opened off to the side.

"That'd be near where Bakura is." Marik said. "Tell me when you found him and I'll re-open the portal." He told Malik.

Malik nodded and went in to start his mission.

It didn't particularly hurt, it was just surprising. Ryou suddenly felt a little breathless and he stared at the light in slight fear.

The portal closed behind Malik and the light disappeared. "Now we just have to wait." Marik pulled Ryou onto the couch. "Just relax and it shouldn't be too bad."

Bakura couldn't move anymore, it was too cold and he'd fought too long. "I'm sorry Ryou." He said to himself. "I tried." off in the distance he heard footsteps...

He could see Bakura's form on the ground. He seemed to be giving up. Malik growled, yelling as he ran towards the thief, "RA DAMNIT BAKURA YOU BETTER STAY ALIVE!"

Ryou started shaking violently as the pain started. It wasn't physical pain, but mental. It wormed its way into his brain and he felt like he wanted to die. Nobody loved him, he was worthless, his existence meant nothing. He leaned against Marik for support, unable to sit up on his own anymore.

Bakura twitched, he didn't want to die, but it hurt so badly to move now, he turned his head, wincing. "I-I'm trying..." and he was, he still wanted to live, it just hurt now.

Marik held Ryou carefully. "He's coming back, Ryou, just relax."

"Ryou is waiting for you! Just hold on a little longer!" he said, reaching Bakura and bending over to pick him up. ~Marik, I've got him, hurry!~ He hoisted Bakura over his shoulder and waited for a response from his hikari.

There was no way they'd make it, Bakura was going to die. Ryou wanted to die, too, if Bakura was going to die. Marik spoke lies. Bakura wasn't coming back, Malik wouldn't find him in time. He started shaking harder in Marik's arms, looking absolutely traumatized as images of Bakura in pain flooded his mind. How could he relax when he was being put through this?

Marik saw something black on Ryou's hand and lifted it up. "Look! He loves you see?" The writing on Ryou's hand was slightly faded, but still readable. It clearly stated what Bakura felt. "Malik has him now, they're coming back!" ~Gotcha!~ And Marik grabbed the rod, furiously trying to re-open the portal.

Malik could feel Bakura weakening. "Just hold on a little longer! He's almost got the portal open! Do it for Ryou!"

He stared down at the writing on his hand. "I love you, Koi." it said. He already knew that Bakura loved him, but that didn't stop him from believing that he would never see his yami again. They couldn't escape the shadow realm. It was impossible! There was no way... He might as well just die now.

"R-Ryou..." Bakura breathed, the darkness finally doing its job, he tried to fight, but it hurt so much. His body tensed, _For Ryou!_ He thought, using what energy he had left to fight death.

Marik growled in frustration and grabbed Ryou's hand. "This'll hurt..." and with a burst of light the portal was open again, Ryou crying out in pain.

_Yes!_ Malik thought, seeing the portal and jumping through.

Ryou yelped at the pain, then passed out into Marik's lap. His body was even weaker than before from all of that, and his breathing was labored. But now Bakura was back.

Bakura gasped for air when they were out, energy suddenly rushing into him. Frowning slightly he moved towards Ryou, who looked dead.

Marik frowned also. "He was fine until I opened the portal..."

Bakura picked Ryou up carefully, feeling the full weight of Ryou and noticing it was much less than the last time he'd done it. Bakura kissed Ryou softly.

"Please wake up... I'm back now."


	9. Chapter 9

Chocolate eyes slowly fluttered open. The first thing Ryou noticed was that he felt a familiar warmth. Bakura! His eyes widened and he looked up at his yami in disbelief. "Y-you're back!" The boy grinned, throwing his arms around Bakura's neck and hugging him.

Malik moved to stand by his own hikari, watching silently. The moment was very sweet. It almost made him want to gag.

Bakura held Ryou tighter, careful of the now frailer body. "I missed you so much Koi..."

Marik rolled his eyes at Malik, enjoying the highly sweet moment, that seemed out of character for Bakura, but was still nice.

"I missed you, too." It felt so good to be back in Bakura's arms after so long. He loved this feeling. He felt like he was loved and everything was warm and good with the world. It was perfect.

Bakura set Ryou down and turned to Marik and Malik. "Thanks."

Marik smiled, "No problem!"

The pale boy continued to lean on Bakura, weak from the recent events. That and he didn't want to be apart from Bakura at all, not for one moment.

Malik nodded in response, face blank.

Marik glomped Malik, "C'mon, let's go home. They've got 'catching up' to do." Marik giggled.

Malik jumped a little in surprise, then smiled a little, wrapping on arm around Marik. He simply turned and started heading towards the door.

This was too good to be true. Bakura was back. It felt like a dream. Ryou looked up at his yami. "Please... Kiss me. I need to know that this is real."

The door closed behind the two Egyptians and Bakura gripped Ryou's chin gently. "You don't need to ask me, just take it. I'm yours and yours alone."

Slightly nervous, Ryou leaned up to touch his lips to Bakura's. He did it slowly, fearing that once they kissed, the dream would disappear and Bakura would be gone again.

Bakura kissed back, wrapping his arms around Ryou tightly. ~I'm not going anywhere.~

Gasping slightly, Ryou deepened the kiss, leaning closer. This. This was heaven. Bakura's arms felt warm around him and his lips just seemed so soft.

Bakura took advantage of Ryou's gasp to slowly push his tongue inside the frail boy's mouth, he could taste the tart broth from Ryou's soup mixed with a sweeter taste, it was brilliant and he never wanted to let go.

Unsure of himself, Ryou pushed back a little against Bakura's tongue. He had never really kissed anyone like this before and he was hesitant. Though he found that he really did enjoy doing this with Bakura.

Bakura moaned softly, this is what he'd wanted since he'd been sent away, and now it was real. He could taste Ryou, and touch Ryou, and love Ryou. Their bodies pressed closer, thier kiss becoming more intimate, until finally they parted for air.

"I love you so much Koi."

Ryou whined softly in protest when they parted, but still stared up at Bakura with loving brown eyes.

"I love you, too," he whispered, wanting to kiss Bakura again. "Don't ever leave again. Please." The boy was actually begging.

"I won't leave you. I'm sure now that there isn't a single person who would want us apart now. I'm here." Bakura said, pulling Ryou into his arms. The taller boy breathed the vanilla scent again, savoring every bit, loving it, loving Ryou.

Ryou nodded into Bakura's chest. He hoped that Bakura wouldn't feel really how thin he was, or feel how greasy his hair was. He felt so self conscious now and he wanted to go bathe right at that moment. The boy felt grimy and nasty... But he didn't want to leave Bakura.

When Bakura opened his eyes, the vanilla scent was gone, replacing it was a smell that wasn't so pleasant. Had the vanilla been a memory? He stepped back a moment. "You stink. C'mon." Bakura picked Ryou up again, carrying the boy upstairs to the bathroom. "You'll probably feel a lot better with a bath." Bakura laughed.

Ryou blushed bright red. Bakura had noticed the smell. And now that he was in his arms... He would surely notice that he was as thin as death. Or he would notice when Ryou got in the bath. Swallowing nervously, the hikari nodded in agreement. A bath would be very nice.

They reached the bathroom and Bakura set Ryou down, carefully removing the smaller boys clothes. What he saw surprised him, all of Ryou's ribs could be seen and his stomach was a lot smaller. Bakura frowned in thought, he placed a hand on Ryou's stomach, feeling the bones there and shadow magic crackled around Bakura's hand, sending some of the yami's energy to Ryou until the hikari's features filled out. It left Bakura a little weak, but he'd get over it soon.

"There, much better." He smiled and turned to the tub, twisting the knobs and filling the basin.

When his clothes were removed, Ryou kept his eyes to the ground, ashamed of himself. He hated that Bakura had to see him like this. Then... Bakura did something. He felt his old weight return and felt some of his old energy return. Bakura had... Fixed him? His yami had made him how he used to be, how he should be. Ryou smiled brightly at Bakura.

"Thank you, Bakura! I feel a lot better!" He watched his yami as he drew Ryou's bath.

"You're very welcome." Bakura said with a smile, the water became warm and Bakura placed Ryou in it, taking a seat next to him. "I take it you're still out of clothes huh?"

Ryou sighed. "Yeah... I've um, been wearing yours... If you can't tell." He laughed a little. "I was pretty messed up for a while. Oh, and there's glass in your room. Watch out for that."

"It's not that big a deal. I don't mind if you wear my clothes." Bakura stood. "Well I should clean that, I'll be back in a minute." He said, leaving the room.

Ryou bit his lip, nodding as Bakura left. He didn't want to be alone anymore... He didn't want Bakura to leave... He tried calming himself by taking a deep breath, then reached over and grabbed the lighter that he kept on a little table by the tub along with some candles. He lit a lavender one then reached for his vanilla shampoo.

Bakura cleaned the mess quickly and returned to where Ryou was bathing. He sat down again and watched, the scent of vanilla coming back to him.

The boy was so focused on the scents around him, he didn't even notice Bakura come back in. The vanilla mixed with the lavender oh-so perfectly and the bathwater just relaxed him so. Ryou began humming a random tune that came to mind as he washed his greasy hair. _This,_ he noted, will have to be _washed twice. Once to get it untangled enough to brush it and again to get the spots that were tangled up..._ He continued lathering his hair, still not realizing Bakura was there.

Bakura smiled at the boy, he didn't seem to realize that Bakura was there, but that was fine, Ryou often did that. Bakura was happy for the familiarity of it all. He leaned against the wall, breathing in the mixing scents like oxygen wasn't good enough. _It's so beautiful, just like Ryou._ He thought, sighing.

Once his hair was sufficiently washed, the boy leaned back in the tub, a small smile on his face. He opened his eyes and jumped a little in surprise at seeing Bakura. "Y-you're back! That was fast." He smiled at his yami. "Oh, and could you do me a favor and hand me my brush? Just right there?" He pointed to it.

"It doesn't take that long to clean up broken glass. I didn't have enough energy to send it to the shadow realm after fixing you up... but hey, it's alright." Bakura reached up ang grabbed it. But instead of handing it to Ryou, he scooted over an started gently brushing the tangles out of Ryou's hair, making sure that he wouldn't pull too hard.

"Oh, okay..." Ryou now felt a little guilty that he had drained Bakura's energy... He had just gotten that back! What right did Ryou have to take it away? But Bakura said it was okay...

The boy smiled at Bakura, letting him brush his hair. He felt so important right now... And he was in Bakura's eyes.

Bakura continued, busy with the task he'd given himself. His tongue poked out the corner of his mouth as he focused on brushing without hurting, but the knot was huge! It had matted together making Ryou's fluffy hair not so fluffy. The yami hadn't done this before, not even to his own hair, but Ryou's hair had to be fluffy or it wasn't Ryou's hair! And Bakura couldn't have that could he?

Ryou couldn't help but giggle at the look of sheer concentration on his yami's face. It was adorable! ... Until he started pulling at a giant knot. He cringed slightly in pain, but didn't say anything. Then Bakura accidentally pulled on it extra hard and he couldn't help but yelp.

"B-Bakura? Could you please let me get the big ones out? Then you can do the rest," he said.

Bakura nearly dropped the hair brush when Ryou cried out in pain. His eyes widening, he'd hurt Ryou!

"I-I'm sorry!" He said, handing Ryou the brush and scooting back.

Ryou looked at Bakura, concerned. "It's okay, Bakura. I'm fine. It just surprised me. There's a certain way you have to get tangles like that out. You have to start from the bottom." He took the brush and began slowly working at it, keeping a firm grip on the hair above the spot so as not to hurt himself. "And when you do something like that, you need to hold on to the hair above it so the person who's hair you're brushing doesn't feel anything!" The tangle was really quite bad... He even cringed a little when he tried to get it out himself.

It took a good ten minutes, but Ryou finally handed the brush back to Bakura. "Here. I got all the bad ones out. It shouldn't hurt anymore." He smiled reassuringly at his yami.

Bakura nodded, taking the brush from Ryou and brushing the hikari's hair out again. It was all smooth and tangle free now, he enjoyed doing it and Ryou seemed to like it. The smaller boy purred and continued washing himself as Bakura brushed.

"That feels good..." Ryou continued washing himself, eyes closed and enjoying this. He still had to shampoo it again, but that could wait... This felt too good to stop right now.

"Isn't it supposed to?" Bakura said, putting the brush down, his arm was getting tired and he could always brush Ryou's hair later. "I remember you used to sit in front of the TV and brush it for hours."

Ryou smiled. "It is. And I did that because it did feel good." Since Bakura stopped, Ryou decided this was a good time to wash it again. He picked up the shampoo and squirted some into his hand, once again filling the room with the wonderful scent of vanilla.

Bakura nodded, sniffing the air happily and watching Ryou more. He smiled and leaned back on his hands.

The boy's eyes drifted closed once again as he lathered his hair. He used the vanilla because it was very calming and he liked it. Especially mixed with the scent of his lavender candle. He ran his fingers through his hair as he continued lathering it, imitating a brush to keep it from tangling again.

Bakura just watched, wanting Ryou more and more each passing moment, the boy was beautiful and Bakura longed for prolonged physical contact.

Once again, Ryou leaned back into the water to rinse his hair, a relaxed look on his face, his lips slightly parted. He had no idea what this was doing to Bakura.

Bakura kept still, he really wanted Ryou now, but he wouldn't do it if Ryou didn't want it. No, he still held to that and it didn't matter to him how much he really wanted to, he wasn't going to hurt Ryou.

Ryou's cheeks were tinted slightly pink from the warmth of the water and he just stayed layed back for a few minutes, letting the water rinse his hair. The boy was still unaware of how his yami was taking all of this.

Bakura couldn't take it anymore, he got up and opened the door. "Let me know when you're done. Okay?" And he closed the door behind him.

Ryou frowned and sat up, looking after him. The last thing he wanted for for Bakura to leave. ~Bakura? Is something wrong? Did I do something wrong?~ Ryou bit his lip, fearing he had upset Bakura in some way.

~Of course not, you can't do anything wrong, you're perfect. I'm just tired is all.~ Bakura responded.

Ryou knew he was far from perfect and he blushed. ~I'm not perfect, Bakura. If I were perfect then... I wouldn't have neglected myself.~ He began to drain the tub and get out, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around himself. He wanted to surprise Bakura that he was walking all on his own. Which, he actually owed to his yami for fixing him. It was no longer hard to walk, no longer a workout for a few simple steps.

He made sure that he was dry enough to walk on their carpet before exiting the bathroom still in just a towel- neither had thought to grab more clothes- and heading towards Bakura's room.

Bakura removed his shirt and tossed it onto the floor. He'd get it later if he needed to. The sheets were ruffled and used. _Something tells me he slept here the whole time._ Bakura thought with a smile. He crawled into bed and didn't even notice when Ryou entered the room.

As Ryou walked in the room, he decided he'd just go without pajamas. He'd slept with Bakura naked before, why should now matter? Plus he didn't feel like getting dressed... The boy dropped his towel and climbed in next to Bakura, getting as close as he could for warmth in the cold room.


	10. Chapter 10

Bakura jumped at the sudden warmth. "R-Ryou!" Bakura shouted, noticing the boy in with him. This didn't help his need to be with Ryou at all. "You surprised me." Bakura said. "I didn't mean to yell..."

Ryou jumped back a little in surprise when Bakura shouted. "I-I'm sorry... I can leave if you want..." He bit his lip, hoping that Bakura wouldn't ask him to leave. He desperately wanted to sleep cuddled up to Bakura for the first time in however long his yami has been gone.

"You don't need to do that, you just surprised me. I'm fine with you being here, don't you ever worry about that." Bakura said, his heart pounding in his chest. _Ra, what I wouldn't give to just... No, Ryou said he wasn't ready. I must respect that!_ Bakura argued with himself. He wrapped one arm around Ryou to reassure the boy that he could stay.

"O-okay... If you're sure." Internally, Ryou was sighing in relief. Bakura wanted him to stay. He cuddled closer, listening to his yami's heartbeat, then frowned. "Your heart is beating awfully fast, are you sure you're okay? If something's wrong I want you to tell me."

Bakura swallowed, Ryou was so close... he pulled the boy up and kissed him furiously, he couldn't hold it back anymore, he tried so hard to respect Ryou's wishes too.

Ryou squeaked a little in surprise, but kissed Bakura back still. He enjoyed the taste of Bakura's mouth; it was sort of spicy and exotic. The boy's arms reached up of their own accord and looped themselves around Bakura's neck.

Bakura placed his hands _low_ on Ryou's waist, practically groping the boy's ass. Any restraint he had was long gone by now and he couldn't help but wish it would return.

The boy yelped loudly into Bakura's mouth in surprise and pulled away from the kiss, eyes filled with confusion. "Bakura, what...?"

Bakura panted heavily, he was able to regain control. "I'm sorry... I just... Ra I need you so bad, it's something that a few simple touches can't fix. I've been without human contact for so long I... I'm sorry." Bakura apologized, his body continued craving Ryou.

Ryou's eyes widened even more, filling with realization and the slightest bit of fear. Bakura was talking about... _sex. _"I..." Ryou's mouth opened and closed, not sure what to say. He loved Bakura, but was he ready to give away his virginity? "I..." The boy bit his lip, thinking. "I love you Bakura. Be... Be gentle, please."

"Of course Koi, I'd do anything to make you feel good, but you do understand it will hurt no matter what right?" Bakura asked, his body tingling with excitement.

Ryou nodded. "I know it will. Will you try to make it hurt as little as possible, though? Please?" The boy had gone through so much pain lately... He wasn't sure if he'd actually be able to take this.

"I'll do all I can." Bakura smiled, pushing Ryou gently onto his back and crawling on top of him. He leaned down and kissed Ryou softly, then started trailing kisses down to the boy's chest, pausing to take one of Ryou's nipples into his mouth, lavishing it with attention from his tongue.

Nodding again, he allowed Bakura to push him down, kissing him back when their lips came together. He felt his body react to Bakura's, the muscle under his skin twitching slightly under Bakura's lips. The boy moaned when his yami started licking the sensitive skin on his chest, wanting more.

Bakura pulled off and moved to the other one. The only thing he cared about was that Ryou was enjoying himself, sure he needed to be with Ryou, but Ryou's pleasure was more important to him than his own.

Gasping, the boy moaned. Bakura's tongue was working wonders on Ryou's skin and he loved it. He felt all his blood rush to a spot between his legs and moaned again.

Bakura pulled off again, kissing his way down further, pausing to nuzzle the small patch of silver curls that were situated just above Ryou's groin. The yami reached Ryou's erection, he gave the tip a soft kiss before swirling his tongue around the head.

Ryou was already panting from the treatment. He had never been touched like this before; he was a virgin in every aspect. Sure, he'd had a wet dream before, but had never actually touched himself. He was too embarrassed. But now... Now Bakura was doing it for him and it felt so good. His yami's tongue was working wonders again and he felt his hips jerk forward impulsively.

Bakura pulled back when Ryou bucked, he placed his hands on Ryou's hips so it wouldn't happen again. He lowered his mouth onto the head and sucked, the sounds coming from Ryou fueling his desire.

He had thought that kissing Bakura was heaven... He was wrong. _This_ was heaven. He couldn't stop his hips from trying to buck again and was glad that Bakura was holding them down. He couldn't stop the little moans and mewls coming out of his mouth as he writhed in pleasure. This was amazing. What could possibly hurt about this?

While Ryou was occupied with Bakura's oral attention, the pale yami slipped one finger into the boys' entrance, Ryou didn't even seem to notice. So Bakura pumped the finger while licking at the underside of Ryou's errection.

A slight pain entered his backside, but the boy barely noticed. The pleasure was overwhelming any pain he may have felt. Even when the finger started moving, all Ryou felt was Bakura's tongue. That wonderful tongue.

Bakura added another finger, taking Ryou deeper into his mouth and bobbing his head. The pale yami's errection throbbed but he still only cared for what pleasure Ryou felt. This would be his first time, and Bakura was determined to make it all the more special. Ryou had been gripping at the sheets, Bakura scissored Ryou, bobbing his head faster to distract him from the pain.

Pain and pleasure clashed in Ryou's mind, both fighting to win dominance. He felt his fingers gripping onto the black sheets below him, but he could also feel Bakura's fingers inside of him, causing him pain. Not only that, but his yami's mouth was around his throbbing cock, sending more and more pleasure through. At the moment, the two feelings were at a stalemate, neither able to win.

Bakura heard Ryou cry in slight discomfort. _Alright... let's try this..._ Bakura thought as he took more and more of Ryou in until the cock hit the back of Bakura's throat, Bakura even started humming as he put the third and final finger inside Ryou.

Oh _Ra._ He was humming. Bakura was humming around Ryou's erection and it felt so _good!_ But there was also more pain to fight the pleasure, clashing in his mind still. He wanted the pleasure to win (obviously) but he wasn't sure if it would. The fingers hurt pretty badly... and if they hurt this bad, it would be agonizing to have Bakura inside of him! Another slight whimper escaped his lips at the thought.

Bakura thrusted the fingers in and out of Ryou, brushing the walls that hugged his fingers. ~It hurts less if you relax.~ Bakura told him, the humming stopped momentarily for Bakura to draw breath. Ryou relaxed around the intrusion and Bakura had more free movement. _If I can just find it..._He thought, pressing his tongue into the slit.

It was a little better when he relaxed... There was less pain. Bakura's tongue was distracting him again, but he noticed that Bakura kept pushing his fingers in at different angles. He almost seemed to be searching for something...

Bakura searched furiously, hoping to find what he was looking for when... _Ah, found it!_ Bakura thought as Ryou let out a loud moan. Bakura kept hitting the spot, humming around Ryou once more. _Just a little bit closer..._ And Bakura knew it.

Suddenly stars danced in front of Ryou's vision and a moan slipped from his throat. Then Bakura hit that spot again, and again, and _again!_ His yami had returned to humming and... and it was all just too much. Still wriggling in absolute pleasure, Ryou gasped loudly, then moaned as he climaxed, releasing his seed into Bakura's mouth.

Bakura swallowed all of it, removing his fingers and crawling back up Ryou's body and kissing him softly. "You sure you want this?" He asked, brushing hair out of Ryou's flushed face.

His mind was gone for a second and the next thing he knew, Bakura was kissing him. After returning the kiss, Ryou nodded. "I'm p-positive." Ryou's eyes were still a little foggy and half-lidded, but he was certain about this. He loved Bakura and was willing to do anything for him.

Bakura nodded, grabbing lube from the night table and spreading it on his errection. Kissing Ryou one more time, slowly, Bakura pushed in. He stopped periodically, hoping that would make it better, once he was fully sheathed in Ryou's tight heat. He waited.

The pain, oh Ra, the pain! He knew it wasn't as bad as it could have been, but it was still terrible! What was currently shoved up his ass... it just didn't fit! Ryou desperately tried to relax- he really did- but Bakura was just too big. The boy felt as if Bakura tried to move, it would rip him apart. His teeth were clenched in an effort not to scream because he knew it would make Bakura feel bad... He wanted to stop, but he couldn't say so now. He wouldn't leave Bakura like this.

So he endured it.

Bakura looked Ryou in the eye. "If you want me to stop... just let me know. I don't want to hurt you at all." Bakura started massaging Ryou's thighs to get him to relax, he kept very still, not moving the lower half of his body an inch, though he wanted to, but he wouldn't for Ryou's sake.

Ryou started taking shaky breaths in an effort to calm down and relax. He hadn't realized that small tears had begun rolling down his face. Slowly, he felt his body start to loosen up. His muscles began relaxing and he got used to the intrusion. He was just getting used to things and Bakura was offering to stop? Hell no! He said he was ready and he would not go back on his word.

"Please... Just make it feel good..." His voice was full of pain and he whimpered slightly.

"That's what I'm trying to do." Bakura said pulling out and shoving back in, moaning at how tight Ryou was. "I only want you to feel good." He started moving at a slow (hopefully) painless pace, trying to get Ryou used to it. He refused to take things any faster until Ryou wanted him to.

Ryou yelped a little when Bakura moved, tensing again. He hated this... How could anyone enjoy this? Sure, the foreplay felt good, but the actual sex? Not so much. Breathing shakily again, he tried relaxing himself once more, starting to get used to having something inside of him. The pain was starting to ebb away. It was still there, but it was noticeably less.

Bakura moved towards the area he remembered Ryou's prostate being in. If he could just hit it, Ryou would be relaxed and in total pleasure. But re-finding it was the problem.

Then all the pain was gone as he saw stars again. Ryou gasped as soon as Bakura hit it again, then moaned. So _this_ is why people have sex... Ryou decided he liked this part.

Bakura smiled, "Found it..." He mumbled, striking the same spot dead on every time.

Soon Ryou was doing nothing but moaning out Bakura's name each time. Somewhere in there, he managed to moan out, "Faster~!"

Bakura obliged, moving faster and slightly harder. The pale yami rested his head on Ryou's shoulder as he continued to thrust inside of him.

The boy could feel himself getting close to release. Bakura was hitting that magical spot perfectly every time and it felt so GOOD! This was just amazing. He was glad he'd endured the pain to make it to this. Ryou was in heaven.

Bakura kept moving faster, he reached between their bodies to grab Ryou's errection and pump in time with his thrusts, Ryou had even started rolling his hips down to meet Bakura's thrusts. Both boys couldn't hold on much longer. And Bakura began mercilessly pumping his lover.

Ryou couldn't take it anymore; it was just too much! Bakura's touches were sending him over the edge. He only held on for a few moments after Bakura started pumping him, then he released.

"AAHH!" he screamed as his release covered their stomachs. He lay there panting, eyes closed.

Bakura rode Ryou's orgasm out while building up to his, finally he released moaning. "Ryou..." And Bakura collapsed on top of the boy out of exhaustion.

Bakura felt heavy on top of him, but it felt kind of nice. It just wasn't really helping him as he tried to catch his breath.

As he lay there, Ryou decided that he liked sex with Bakura.

Bakura pulled out and rolled next to Ryou, panting softly. "Thank you." Bakura smiled and cupped Ryou's flushed cheek. "I love you very much."

Ryou looked at him through tired eyes. "Why are you thanking me? I love you, too. I'd do anything for you, Kura." He smiled softly, his eyes starting to drift closed. He knew that he'd probably be sore in the morning, but at the moment he really didn't care. Snuggling closer to Bakura, Ryou sighed softly, happy.

"I'm thanking you because I needed it..." Bakura barely got the words out before Ryou drifted off. He smiled and pulled the boy closer, falling asleep.

~XOXO~

The next morning as Ryou drifted back to the real world, he noticed a tightness in his lower back along with a slight pain. He shifted slightly, then gasped sharply as it sent a painful shockwave up his spine. The boy closed his eyes tight and tensed slightly, not wanting to move.

Bakura woke up shortly after, feeling Ryou's pain through their link. "I'm sorry Koi." He said, reaching back to rub the spot on Ryou's back where he knew it hurt the most.

Ryou winced a little, but slowly relaxed. It still hurt, but the rubbing was making it feel better. He sighed and leaned his head on Bakura's chest. "Don't be sorry. I agreed to it."

"I'm glad you did too." He said, hugging Ryou tightly.

The boy tensed again when Bakura hugged him. Sure he appreciated to gesture, but it shifted him just enough to make his back twinge again.

"C-could you loosen up a bit, please?"

"Oh sorry." Bakura said, letting Ryou go. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"I-it's alright! I just... I'm really sore." Ryou bit his lip. He didn't want Bakura to go... but he'd never stay if he knew he was causing Ryou pain.

Bakura frowned in worry. "Alright... if you say so." And he continued rubbing Ryou's back.

Ryou started to relax again, loving the way Bakura's hand seemed to unclench his muscles. His back was already starting to feel better. The boy sighed in content, closing his eyes and enjoying the treatment he was getting.

Bakura smiled at the way Ryou seemed to purr. "You're adorable." Bakura laughed.

He smiled softly, just that simple compliment making him incredibly happy. "Thank you," he whispered.

Bakura stopped and pulled Ryou into a softer hug, careful of the pain in Ryou's back. "I missed you so much..." He breathed. "So very much."

This time the hug was nice. Bakura's voice sent shivers down his spine. "I missed you, too. So much." He nuzzled Bakura's shoulder with his nose softly.

Bakura kissed the top of Ryou's head. "And now everyone's going to leave us be... except Tea but I doubt she'll ever leave anyone alone."

A serene smile found its way onto Ryou's face. They could be together with nobody being suspicious now. After what happened, he doubted Yami would ever try something like that again. Wait.. Yami... Yugi! He never told Yugi!

"Kura? Could you hand me my phone, please?"

Bakura blinked. "Okay..." Bakura reached back to the cordless phone on the night table, handing the black object to Ryou. "Here."

With a bright smile, Ryou said, "Thank you!" then proceeded to dial Yugi's number and call it.

Yugi answered his phone groggily, Yami clinging to the smaller boy's waist, still asleep. "Ryou? What's up?"

"Oh, I'm sorry! Did I wake you up? I'm really sorry... I just needed to tell you! Bakura's back! Marik helped me get him back!" Ryou was grinning as wide as he could as he said this.

"It's fine Ryou I was about to wake up anyway. Really? That's great! I'm so happy for you!" Yugi smiled, you'll never guess what happened after Marik left! We kissed Ryou! He kissed me!" Yugi sighed happily.

"That's great! I'm so happy for you, too! I guess this makes three of us." He was still grinning.

Yami nuzzled Yugi's stomach softly in his sleep.

"Apparently he likes me like that too! I'm so happy! So what have you two been up to? Bakura surely missed you right?" Yugi grinned, he wouldn't of guessed that they'd gotten intimate enough for sex. Yugi was, after all, quite the innocent. He smiled and started running his hand through Yami's hair.

"That's great! And we've, uh... been catching up." Ryou didn't quite want to admit that they had sex yet. After all, it was kind of embarrassing to tell your friend that you had sex with your yami the first day he got back from the shadow realm.

Bakura snickered as Ryou answered the question.

Yami began purring softly in his sleep as Yugi's fingers threaded through his hair. He slowly started waking up.

"Oh well that's nice." Yugi said. "Yami was terrified that Marik would come back and beat him up again, so he's been spending the night in my room for the last couple days..."

Ignoring Bakura, Ryou continued talking to his friend.

"Aww, poor thing. But hey, it's a lot warmer isn't it? It feels nice." He smiled, happy for his friend.

Yami looked up at Yugi groggily.

"Who are you talking to?" he asked.

"It is very nice! I enjoy having him here." Yugi looked down at his other half. "Ryou, Yami." Yugi giggled at the adorable sleepy look Yami had.

"I'm glad. I know I enjoy having Bakura here."

Still groggy, Yami just nodded and nuzzled Yugi's stomach again, starting to drift back off.

"I hope you're still not mad at Yami. Maybe the four of us could go out sometime." Yugi said optimistically. "I think it'd be fun."

"I'm... less mad. As long as he never tries anything like that again, I'll be fine." _Because if he does,_ Ryou thought, _Then I will personally send HIS soul to the shadow realm myself. I'll figure out a way._

Yami continued to nuzzle Yugi's stomach softly. His nose was rubbing at the spot just above his bellybutton.

"I don't think he will. Marik broke his nose and gave him two black eyes." Yugi sounded heartbroken. "The doctor said he might even need corrective surgery." Yugi was on the brink of tears, his yami had been hurt so badly. "I don't know if I can afford that, but I'll try."

Ryou gasped. Yami may have deserved it, but he didn't wish harm on anybody. "Yugi, we'll help any way we can to help pay." He noticed himself using 'we' instead of 'I' and smiled slightly to himself.

Yami was now fast asleep, completely unaware that he was the subject of their conversation.

"I couldn't ask you to do that Ryou. I don't want to take your money. It's a nice offer but it just doesn't feel right." Yugi said, returning to petting Yami.

"Really, Yugi, I insist! I won't let you clean yourself out for this. My dad left me a giant savings account. Part of any money he gets is sent to it. I've ever once touched it. Please let me help. I really want to." Ryou was worried for his friend. He was even worried about Yami. He couldn't stop himself from caring just because he was a very caring person. He would not just sit by and watch his friend struggle to come up with that money!

Yami began purring softly in his sleep.

Yugi started crying. "Thank you Ryou. You're a really good friend."

Hearing the tears in Yugi's voice, Ryou frowned slightly. "It's really no problem. Any decent person would do it. Really, I don't mind."

He heard his aibou start to cry and woke up frowning and looking up at him. "What's wrong?"

Yugi sniffled and smiled. "Well I gotta go. Yami just woke up. Bye Ryou." He said and hung up. "Nothing's wrong Yami, Ryou said he'd help pay for the corrective surgery you need."

"Bye!" Ryou hung up the phone, then smiled over at Bakura.

Eyes widening, Yami asked, "Really?" How in the world could Ryou be so nice to him after what he did? Especially with Bakura still gone. He knew that the thief would be dead by now; nobody could last that long in the shadow realm and live.

"He said he couldn't let me clean myself out. The shop doesn't make a whole lot of money anymore." Yugi smiled. "He's a wonderful friend, and he's gotten a lot happier since Bakura got back yesterday."

"Bakura's back?" In all honesty, Yami wasn't sure how he felt about this. He was happy for Ryou, but... Bakura would surely want revenge. He wasn't the kind of person to let something like that go. Quite frankly, Yami was more scared of Bakura than he was of Marik.

Yugi nodded. "Marik and Malik brought him back yesterday. I think it's wonderful." The small boy said with a bright smile.

"I-it is, but..." Yami looked up at Yugi fearfully. "Yugi, he's going to kill me! Or at least do something worse than Marik did!"

Yugi blinked. "Have more faith in Ryou. Surely he can stop Bakura."

Yami nodded, hoping to Ra that Yugi was right.

Ryou snuggled into Bakura. "I love you."

Bakura smiled and wrapped his arms around Ryou. "I love you too."

"I bet a warm bath would make my back feel better. It always helps relax me." He moved to get up, but Bakura's arms held him firmly in place. He laughed a little. "Bakura?"

"Nooooo!" Bakura whined. "Just a little bit longer!"

Ryou giggled. "Fine. But we both need to bathe and you know it."

Bakura nodded. "I just like laying here with you."

"And I like laying here with you. But it'd be nicer if we were both clean."

"That's nice..." Bakura nuzzled Ryou's hair, half listening, half purring.

Ryou rolled his eyes, smiling. Bakura could be so sweet, but Ryou really wanted to be clean. He really did love being here, but he'd rather not be covered in dried liquids from their... previous activities.

As soon as Bakura had his fill he Picked Ryou up and walked off to the bathroom.

Being picked up was a surprise to Ryou and his body impulsively wiggled, making his lower back twist the wrong way and send pain up his spine. He yelped slightly when this happened, but soon relaxed into Bakura's arms.

"Don't hurt yourself." Bakura said, setting Ryou down on the toilet seat. He turned around and started the bath and when it was warm, he picked Ryou up and climbed in, setting Ryou down so his back was facing Bakura and Ryou was sitting on the tub in between Bakura's legs.

Ryou blushed a little. He was in the tub with Bakura... Considering what they did last night, he guessed he shouldn't be embarrassed, but he still was.


	11. Chapter 11

Bakura rested his chin on Ryou's head. "Something wrong?" He asked.

"N-no!" Ryou squeaked. "I'm just... Not used to all of this yet." He leaned back slightly into Bakura's chest. The pain in his lower back was ebbing away and he was already feeling better.

Bakura chuckled. "That's okay." The yami grabbed a wet cloth and started cleaning the mess off of Ryou, gently moving his hand up and down Ryou's torso.

Ryou closed his eyes, smiling softly. This was nice. _After this, though,_ he promised himself, _I need to do some cleaning._

Bakura kept at it until Ryou was clean, then started on himself, Ryou looked half asleep and adorable. Bakura started running his hand through Ryou's hair.

The boy's eyes fluttered open when he felt his hair being touched. "I need to wash it..." he said quietly, halfway hoping Bakura wouldn't hear and continue stroking his hair. It was calming.

Bakura heard Ryou so he reached for the shampoo and started washing Ryou's hair himself, his lover seemed relaxed and if Bakura could help, he would.

This was like a spa! Bakura was now washing Ryou's hair for him. His body was completely relaxed. The water was the perfect temperature, Bakura was washing his hair, all he had to do was relax... This was perfect.

The smell of vanilla clouded the air, and Ryou inhaled deeply. The one thing that could make this better was the lavender candle that sat just out of his reach.

Bakura continued with the task he'd given himself, loving how Ryou purred as he did so. Vanilla invaded Bakura's nose and he couldn't wish for anything more than what he had right now. He grabbed the detachable shower head and started rinsing Ryou's hair making sure none of the soap made its way into Ryou's eyes.

Ryou sighed happily loving every minute of this. When he shifted, he found that the pain in his lower back was almost completely gone. He scooted back a little, closer to Bakura.

Bakura finished Rinsing Ryou's hair, letting the boy lean on him for a moment before draining the tub and wrapping Ryou in a towel. "That's right... you don't have clothes do you?" Bakura got up and wrapped a towel around his waist, walking off to his room.

Ryou opened his eyes and shook his head, looking down a little sheepishly. "Um, no. And neither do you. I wore all of yours, too. I'll do a load of laundry. Get whatever you want to wear and I'll wash it!" He headed towards his own room and picked up the basket full of dirty clothes.

Bakura came back wearing the pants he'd worn yesterday and holding the same shirt. He went after Ryou and pulled the shirt over the boys head. "I know it's not clean but it's better than walking around naked most of the day."

The boy smiled at his yami angelically. "Thank you! Now get together whatever you want washed!" He dashed out of his room and headed downstairs towards the laundry room, determined to get something done today. He would NOT just sit around and be lazy. The house needed some cleaning and there was laundry to be done. Ryou would simply not tolerate a messy house, nor would he tolerate not having clean clothes... especially underwear.

Bakura nodded and went back to his room. He pulled together all the clothes that Ryou had worn, and clothes he'd just left around. "Might as well check under the bed... Ryou will get mad if I leave clothes there." Bakura set down his basket of collected clothes and looked under the bed. He found a few shirts and some pants under there. There was also a black mass.

"What the...?" Bakura said, reaching for it. He caught the fabric and dragged it out from under the bed.

It was his favorite black cloak he'd worn that day he challenged the Pharaoh to the "Ultimate Shadow Game". He ran downstairs.

"Ryou! Ryou! You'll never guess what I found!" He shouted excitedly, a wide grin on his face.

Ryou was putting the first load of laundry in the washer when Bakura called.

"What is it?" he called back.

"Look what I found!" Bakura shouted, walking into the laundry room. He held up the black cloak and grinned.

Ryou smiled back. "That's great, Kura!" He poured in the detergent then shut the laundry machine. "I'm glad you found it." He turned so he was leaning on the laundry machine and looking at his yami.

Bakura lifted Ryou up so he was sitting on the washer. "Hey there." Bakura said, laughing slightly.

It was different being completely eye level with Bakura. He smiled back at his yami. "Hi." Slowly, Ryou looped his arms over Bakura's shoulders, smiling at him.

It was different being completely eye level with Bakura. He smiled back at his yami. "Hi." Slowly, Ryou looped his arms over Bakura's shoulders, smiling at him.

Bakura played with the bottom of Ryou's shirt absently. He placed his hands on Ryou's hips and grinned, leaning in to kiss Ryou.

He eagerly leaned forward to meet Bakura in a kiss. It just felt so great having him back! He just felt generally happier when Bakura was around. Everything was perfect.

Bakura moved one of his hands to the back of Ryou's head, deepening the kiss. With Ryou's sweet taste on his lips, Bakura slid the other hand up under the back of the loose hanging T-shirt.

Ryou moaned softly into the kiss, leaning forward slightly to help deepen it. Having Bakura's hands on him just motivated him further. As he tangled both hands in his yami's hair, he lifted on leg to wrap it around Bakura's waist.

Bakura smirked into the kiss, thinking about how just yesterday Ryou wouldn't be doing this stuff and now he was the one making it more intimate.

The washing machine under him was shaking as the clothes inside it were being washed and it was driving Ryou crazy. That coupled with the fact that Bakura was kissing him... He felt like he needed Bakura. Needed his yami to touch him, needed to be as close as possible.

Then someone had to knock on the fucking door.

Bakura pulled back and glanced behind him. "I'll get it." He sighed angrily walking for the door.

Someone knocked again.

"I'M COMING ALREADY!" Bakura shouted, stomping to the door and opening it, only to be tackled to the ground by none other than...

Tea.


	12. Chapter 12

Ryou huffed in annoyance, kicking his feet in the air and staring at the ground. Why did somebody choose NOW to visit?

Growling down at Bakura, Tea spoke. "I'm on to you! After what happened, you probably actually took control of his mind expecting nobody to suspect anything! But I know. I know what you're doing."

Starting to get impatient, Ryou walked out of the laundry room towards the front door. "Kura, who is- oh."

Bakura sighed. "Tea, there's nothing going on here, I don't even have enough energy for shadow magic at this current point. There isn't a way I could... or would... use shadow magic. And if I had it, I wouldn't use it to control Ryou, I'd use it to get your skank ass out of here. Now will you please GET OFF!"

"I don't believe you! You're not doing it because you like this! Why do you want him and not me? Why won't you love me? I'm better looking and more outgoing, and I'm probably a better kisser! So just love me!"

Ryou could do nothing but stand there, frozen in shock. She was still trying to get Bakura? Even after all that happened, she was still trying to get him for herself?

"Simple Tea, I'm GAY, women don't appeal. And even if they did... YOU are the last one on the list of people I'd fuck." Bakura shoved her off and stood up.

She lay on the floor looking up at him with teary eyes. "No. You just think you're gay. I will save you from your sins!"

Ryou moved to stand next to Bakura, looking down at her with pity. It was kind of sad if you thought about it. The poor girl only wanted someone to love her.

"You're pathetic. There's nothing that will make me change my mind." Bakura said rolling his eyes. "Oh well, I'm sure someone will love your crazy."

"I know something that will," Tea said, standing. Then she suddenly surged forward and kissed Bakura with all the passion she could gather.

Ryou's face lit up with rage and jealousy. _Nobody_ was allowed to kiss Bakura except him! Before he could stop himself, he tackled Tea to the ground, growling.

Bakura was in utter shock. She tasted like meat, she smelled like cheap perfume, and she was pressed too close. Then Ryou tackled Tea, Bakura took the chance to spit out the awful taste in his mouth.

"You slut!" Bakura shouted. "What part of 'I'm gay' don't you understand?"

Ryou was furious. He slapped her, HARD. "Don't fucking TOUCH him! He said "NO! WHY CAN'T YOU JUST LEAVE US ALONE!" He slapped her again and again, unable to stop himself, his temper completely out of control.

Tea could do nothing but lie there, struggling to get away but she couldn't.

Bakura picked Ryou up with great effort. "Hey, calm down, Ryou calm down. I still love only you." Bakura held Ryou to him. "She's not worth it." He said, kissing the top of Ryou's head, vanilla invading his nose.

He was still shaking slightly, adrenaline pumping through his veins. Ryou took deep breaths to calm himself, burying his face in Bakura's chest.

Tea got up and ran. Ryou could be so scary and she never wanted to experience that again.

Bakura held Ryou until the door shut behind the girl and he pulled back to look at Ryou. "She's just a slut. She tastes like meat. You, you are special, and you taste sweet. Who do you think I'm going to be with?" Bakura smiled and kissed Ryou. "She's all alone since Yami and Yugi got together, and who cares? Maybe she'll be someone's fuck bud." Bakura said with a smirk.

Ryou wiped tears from his eyes as he looked up at Bakura. "I knew you wouldn't go to her, it's just... You said no and she continued anyway. It's almost like... Kiss rape." He was glad to be back in Bakura's arms. It was warm and safe.

Bakura laughed. "Kiss rape... that's one way to put it." The washing machine stopped and Bakura glanced back at the laundry room. "Right we have clothes to clean don't we?"

Sighing, Ryou pulled himself away from Bakura. "Yeah..." He started back towards the laundry room_. I wonder if we can start where we left off after I put the next load in..._

Bakura followed, just out of pure lack of something to do. After Ryou had finished with that load, Bakura lifted him up on the drier, watching Ryou shake around with amusement. "That looks like fun." Bakura laughed.

Ryou's face tinged pink. The shaking was... well, kind of turning him on. It moved him around in just the right spot, and it felt good...

Bakura smirked at the flushed look Ryou had, the small boys eyes clouded with lust. Bakura reached up under the front of Ryou's shirt, grazing his fingers along the skin, Ryou shuddered. The yami's fingers made it to Ryou's sensitive nipples, the hand pinched and rubbed. Bakura was getting turned on just looking at his hikari.

"You have no idea what you do to me." Bakura breathed, kissing Ryou roughly.

Finally, Bakura was touching him again. The smallest intimate touch from his yami made Ryou shudder in delight. He leaned into the touch of Bakura's hand, eyes drifting closed.

His yami's voice had become husky, sending another shiver down his spine. Ryou moaned into their kiss, returning it hungrily.

Bakura pulled Ryou's shirt off, leaving the boy totally exposed. He bent over his lips grazing along Ryou's hardening errection. He let his tongue slide along the side, the hard-on twitching under his touch. Hands tangled in his hair and Bakura took the head into his mouth.

Ryou let out a noise somewhere between a gasp and a cry. His fingers needed something to clutch, so he grabbed Bakura's hair, head rolling back. He felt his legs spread as wide as they could of their own accord, giving Bakura full access to him.

Ryou tasted good to Bakura, he licked and sucked, trying to fill his mouth with that taste, he had been given full reign over the boys' body. Bakura scraped his teeth along the shaft, all moans going straight to his groin. He pulled off, swirling his tongue.

Standing back up to look at Ryou, he kissed the boy. "Would you like to take me this time?" He asked.

Ryou whined at the loss of Bakura's mouth on him, but found it on his lips instead. He kissed back, then looked at Bakura, confused. His foggy mind didn't really process the question right and all he could think was, _Take you where...?_

Bakura frowned at the lack of a response. "Ryou, would you like to be on top this time or not?"

Bakura was offering for him to be on top? He didn't really know what to do...

"I-I think I like you doing it better."

Bakura sighed. "If that's what you want..." Bakura picked Ryou up and moved them onto the living room couch, crawling on top of the boy. "Then we'll keep doing that." Bakura latched onto Ryou's neck, licking the soft skin and biting, not too hard though.

The boy nodded, holding on around Bakura's neck when he was lifted. As soon as Bakura was above him on the couch, Ryou wrapped his legs around Bakura's waist, rolling his head back and moaning when his yami started sucking on just the right spot on his neck.

Bakura kept sucking on Ryou's neck, reaching down with his hand to grip Ryou's errection, squeezing softly before pumping slowly. Bakura wanted to have some fun too, so he continued pumping at his agonizingly slow pace.

Ryou's breathing increased. His hips jerked forward, begging Bakura to move faster.

"Pleeaase..." he moaned wantonly, bucking his hips again.

Bakura smirked and brought his mouth to Ryou's ear. "Tell me how bad you want it. Then _maybe_ I'll move faster."

He gasped slightly, then moaned again. "Pleeeaaase... I need you... Bakuraaa..."

Bakura mulled it over for a moment. "Hmm... nope. Not good enough. C'mon Koi, I know you can do better than that."

Ryou was starting to get annoyed. He did not particularly want to beg, but... If it got him what he wanted.

"Faster, Bakura, please!" he cried out. "I need this, I need you!"

Bakura smirked, normally he would have kept this going, but this was Ryou. "You want more? I'll give you more!" Bakura suddenly started pumping incredibly fast without warning, "Is this what you wanted?"

Ryou's eyes crossed and he yelped in surprise. His head rolled back and he moaned loudly, feeling his climax approaching fast. He was unable to speak with all the pleasure clouding his mind.

Bakura smirked, pumping as fast as his arms could go. "Come for me Ryou..." He whispered.

Ryou's eyes rolled back and a shiver went down his whole body as he came into Bakura's hand. He lay there panting afterwards, momentarily unable to move.

Bakura bent down and licked off all the semen off of Ryou. "I like your taste Ryou."

Ryou honestly didn't know how to respond to that, so he just lay there trying to catch his breath.

Bakura crawled back up and kissed his lover, allowing the boy to taste himself on Bakura.

Ryou kissed back, tasting a slightly bitter salty taste in Bakura's mouth.

Then the washer and drier stopped.

The last thing he wanted to do was push Bakura off and go get the clothes, but the ones in the drier needed to be hung before they got wrinkly, and the ones in the wash needed to be put in the drier... So Ryou waited. He continued to kiss Bakura, he was just waiting for him to stop.

Bakura pulled back, arms on either side of Ryou's head. "I love you." He said.

Ryou smiled softly up at him. "I love you, too." He debated whether or not to tell Bakura... "Um, Bakura?"

Bakura blinked. "Hm? Something wrong?" he asked, tilting his head slightly

Sheepish, Ryou shook his head. "N-no... it's just... The laundry." He bit his lip, a little nervous.

Bakura suddenly looked bitter. "Stupid fucking shit..." he swore. "It can wait another twenty right?"

He bit his lip. "Well, I guess so..." Ryou wasn't so sure. But he also didn't want to make Bakura mad...

Bakura grinned. "Thank you Koi!" He lowered a finger to Ryou's entrance, barely pushing it in.

Ryou giggled at his yami. He could be so childish sometimes...

The boy gasped sharply when he felt the finger there. Suddenly he was reminded of the intense pleasure from the night before. He wanted that finger _in._

Bakura impaled the finger inside of Ryou, watching the boys' face closely for any sign of pain. But he only saw pleasure.

"Wow, you adapted fast..." Bakura muttered, pumping the finger in and out.

Ryou was starting to like the feeling of something inside of him. One finger was easy compared to his yami's sizeable cock. It felt kind of... nice. He closed his eyes, a small smile on his face.

Bakura added a second finger, scissoring slowly so as not to hurt Ryou. Bakura kept watching carefully, he'd do anything to make sure Ryou wasn't hurt.

He frowned in slight discomfort. It wasn't nearly as bad as his first time, but it was still kind of uncomfortable. Nothing he couldn't handle, though.

Bakura kept with that until Ryou's slight tension went away, slowly he pushed the third finger in, pumping it in and out slowly.

The third finger is where it started to hurt. He bit his lip and tried to relax as much as he could, the promise of that same pleasure egging him on. He'd get through this part as he had the night before, then he'd be in heaven.

Bakura just kept slowly pumping the three fingers in and out of Ryou, searching for that one bundle of nerves that would send Ryou into a frenzy.

It was found quickly, judging by Ryou's sharp gasp. The boy closed his eyes and moaned long and loud at the shockwaves throughout his body. _This_ is what he held out for.

Bakura smirked, nudging the spot again before pulling his fingers out. Carefully he pushed in, it would sting a bit more this time because he didn't have anything to lube himself with, but he'd be patient for Ryou.

As the pleasure faded away, he felt the fingers leave and something bigger try to force its way in. _This_ hurt. He clenched his teeth and clawed at the couch. It still wasn't as bad as the previous night, but it wasn't much better.

Bakura waited patiently, kissing Ryou softly, careful not to move. "You gotta relax Ry." He said.

"I-I'm t-trying..." he managed. His muscles just would not listen to him. The couch had him in a slightly different position than Bakura's bed did and it just did not help.

"Just calm down, that's all you gotta do." Bakura said softly. He reached down and grabbed Ryou's softening errection, teasing it back to life and making Ryou moan.

Ryou nodded, trying to relax. Moaning softly when Bakura grabbed his member, the boy slowly began to relax.

Bakura started moving as soon as Ryou relaxed, he moved slow again trying to find Ryou's prostate again.

The boy kept his breathing even, managing to stay relaxed. He swallowed, once again getting used to the feeling of Bakura inside of him. He now craved the feeling of intense pleasure. He _needed_ it.

And Ryou moaned loudly when he felt it.

Bakura moved faster instantly, panting softly.

Ryou moaned again, beginning to roll his hips slightly to match Bakura. His yami had very good aim; he was hitting that one spot each time. Ryou felt his cock aching with need.

Bakura started hitting harder, Ryou might have liked last night, but Bakura had yet to show him how great this felt. Bakura trailed his fingers teasingly over Ryou's cock, he was far from done yet.

Ryou made a little upward inflection with each thrust in his moans. His mind was lost in a haze of lust and want, his whole body on fire. He wanted, no, _needed _this!

Bakura kept moving harder until he was pounding into the boy, abusing his prostate. Bakura moaned softly, he felt himself close to release, he gripped Ryou's errection and pumped just as mercilessly as he thrusted.

There was no way he could hold it any longer! He just couldn't! To much pressure he just need to-

"KURAAA!"

Release.

Bakura felt Ryou clamp tightly around him. "Ra... Ryou..." He moaned, filling Ryou with warmth. His arms shook as he struggled to keep himself up.

Ryou lay there, eyes halfway closed, panting, and looking at Bakura. That had been amazing! But if he'd been that sore from last night, he couldn't imagine what he'd feel like after this.

Bakura panted heavily for a moment, sensing Ryou's dilemma. "I-It hurts... worse... when you sleep on it..." He said. At least that's what he remembered, he hadn't been bottom in a long time.

The boy nodded, noticing Bakura struggling to stay up. He smiles softly and turned on his side so the Bakura would be able to lay beside him.

Bakura collapsed next to Ryou as soon as the boy moved over. He reached over and pulled Ryou up on top of him. "I love you." He said with a shaky smile. He wanted to fall asleep with Ryou like that, but Ryou would have a fit if the laundry didn't get done. Still, he held Ryou to him for a moment, enjoying the closeness.

Ryou giggled, snuggling into Bakura's chest. "I love you, too."

At the moment, the laundry was the furthest thing from the boy's mind. He was happy just laying therewith Bakura. It was nice and warm there and he didn't feel like moving.

Bakura whined slightly. "Next time, you be top... you're too damn tight for me to do this all the time. I think I'm bruised..." Bakura laughed, he was kidding of course, he could do this all day.

Ryou frowned, not realizing that his yami was joking. "I'm sorry! I didn't know... I just... You're so good at being on top and I don't think I'd be any good..."

Bakura laughed. "I was kidding Ryou. And you'd be fine, it's not like you're clueless as to how it works."

"O-oh okay..." He blushed slightly. "I guess I could try sometime..."

"You're gonna kinda have to, you can't stay a half-virgin forever..." he laughed. "And if you don't do some of the fucking, then you'll technically be a virgin forever."

Ryou blushed even more and just nodded.

"Don't you have a chore to do?" Bakura said. "Actually I could stand to do a few things..." He sighed. "We have to have clothes..."

Gasping, Ryou got up. "Oh yeah! The laundry!" He dashed off to the laundry room, not bothering to clothe himself.

Bakura chuckled and fell asleep on the couch, unable to stay awake any longer.


	13. Chapter 13

The only thing that was keeping Ryou upright was the threat of the clothes being wrinkled. After putting the clothes from the washer into the drier, he brought the still-warm basket of dry clothes into the living room and began folding them.

After folding the clothes, he carried them up to his room, putting some on, but not putting the rest away yet. Ryou made his way back downstairs and smiled at Bakura's sleeping form. He grabbed a blanket and lay down next to his yami, pulling the blanket over them.

Bakura woke up a few hours later, he smiled when he saw Ryou next to him. _Alrighty then..._ He thought, getting up without disturbing Ryou.

_Let's see what we've got in the..._ Bakura opened the pantry doors. _Pantry... great..._ The entire pantry was cleaned out of edible food_. Hmm..._ _I guess we're going out tonight..._ Bakura grinned, Ryou would love this.

Ryou shifted, not feeling Bakura next to him, and opened his eyes. The couch was still warm in the spot where Bakura had been.

"Kura?" he called.

Bakura walked out of the kitchen with a serious look on his face.

"I'm taking you out Ryou." He said.

Blushing, Ryou sat up. "Out? To where exactly?"

"For dinner... we're out of food." Bakura said with a shrug.

"Oh. Okay. I should probably actually get dressed first." Ryou giggled. "So should you."

"Aw, but I wanted to go naked." Bakura joked. "Show off that sexy ass of yours." He smirked at the boy. "They'd all be jealous."

Ryou's face flushed. Bakura thought his backside was sexy? How exactly can a butt be sexy? The boy chanced a glance at his yami's ass and decided it WAS quite sexy.

"We're not going naked, Bakura."

"I know, I'd get jealous of all the people staring at you. Might have to kill a few bitches..." Bakura chuckled.

At that moment, Ryou decided it was probably just best to go get dressed. With a bright red blush, he headed upstairs towards his room.

Bakura walked upstairs into his room. He dug through his drawers, pulling out a black shirt and jeans, forgoing underwear.

After finding something suitable to wear, Ryou exited his room, waiting for Bakura. He was wearing a nice dark blue shirt along with a sleek pair of black slacks.

Bakura came out of his room wearing his black jacket over his clothes.

"Ready to go?" He asked.

Ryou giggled a little at Bakura. "You're gonna start wearing that everywhere now again, aren't you? And yes. I'm ready."

"Of course! I just found it and I love it a lot." He grabbed Ryou's hand and started walking for the door.

Ryou giggled and followed his yami. "Bakura? There's always something I've wondered."

Bakura looked at Ryou with a slightly adorable confused look on his face. "What is it?"

Still giggling slightly, the boy answered, "Well, what exactly possessed you to go out and get a trench coat? It was kind of random."

Bakura laughed. "I stole it from Kaiba. All I had to do was cut off a few things and dye it black. It's more of a trophy... a very comfy trophy."

"Ah. Makes sense." They exited the house, Ryou grinning extra big at Bakura when he held the door open.

Of course Bakura would open the door. He had reached it first, and since he cared enough, he let Ryou go first. He relished in the grin that appeared on his hikari's face. He got into the car and started it, driving off after Ryou had gotten in.

"Anywhere you want to go?" Bakura asked, pulling up to the first stop sign. He could only drive the car because he wanted to prove to the Pharaoh that he could do it without crashing into everything. So he learned, and now he could drive... turns out the Pharaoh can't. He's the first yami to learn!

"Hmm... How about Red Lobster? I love that place!" Ryou grinned even more at the thought of going to his favorite restaurant. The best thing there to him was the shrimp alfredo. It was absolutely delicious.

Bakura smiled. "Whatever you want." He said, he turned right and drove on in the direction of the restaurant.

The boy grinned even wider, almost jumping up and down in his seat with excitement.

Bakura chuckled, Ryou was so adorable when he wanted to be.

The yami reached over and placed his hand on Ryou's leg. "Calm down there!" He laughed. "Save the excitement for when we're there!"

Ryou jumped slightly, not expecting the gesture, then grinned over at Bakura, giggling. "Sorry. I just haven't been there in a while. I'm really craving that shrimp alfredo right now." He forced himself to calm down, not bouncing anymore.

Bakura pulled into the parking lot. "Maybe we should go back. I don't think you want to eat here." Bakura said jokingly, poking Ryou in the stomach.

Pouting playfully, Ryou whined. "But I do! I really really really really do!" As soon as his stomach was poked, it growled. He giggled. "I don't think my stomach likes you very much."

"Oh really?" Bakura laughed, rubbing Ryou's stomach. "I wonder if it likes me NOW!" He suddenly started tickling Ryou's belly.

The boy burst into a fit of giggles. Ryou was extremely ticklish. He squirmed and tried to get away on impulse, but continued to laugh. His stomach growled again in hunger and protest to the treatment.

"I still... think it... doesn't like... you!" he managed between laughter.

Bakura didn't stop, he enjoyed Ryou's laughter too much. "Aw, but I like it a lot!" He whined jokingly his fingers dancing over Ryou's stomach.

It was getting harder and harder to breathe. Ryou's laughter finally stopped and just left him wheezing in a silent laugh. In-between this, he managed to breathe out, "Stop, please!"

Bakura couldn't hear him, Ryou had breathed it and all Bakura thought was that Ryou was trying not to laugh.

Tears were now streaming down the hikari's face from the laughing. It wasn't so enjoyable anymore, though. His stomach was cramping along with his face and it was kind of painful. This time he managed to get out his words with a little more force.

"S-stop!"

Bakura stopped, hearing Ryou this time. "I-I'm sorry Ryou!" He said, panic in his eyes. "I didn't mean to hurt you! I'm so sorry!"

The boy gasped for air, holding his stomach slightly. He wasn't mad at all; he knew that Bakura was just playing. Finally, after catching his breath, Ryou spoke.

"I'm fine, Bakura. I just couldn't breathe... Is all," he said, still trying to catch his breath. He turned and smiled at Bakura. "I'm fine."

Bakura looked at Ryou worriedly. "You sure?" He asked.

Finally catching his breath, Ryou gave his yami a full-fledged grin. "I'm sure. Now let's go eat, I'm starving."

Bakura sighed in relief and got out of the car. "Let's go eat." He said.

Still smiling, Ryou followed suit and hopped out of the car, heading towards the building. This was going to be just perfect.

Bakura took Ryou's hand, walking for the building. At the moment he thought about how perfectly Ryou's hand fit in his.

Ryou's smile just grew wider. He felt loved, he felt needed, he felt... _not alone_. At this very moment, there was nothing bad in the world.

... Until they got in the restaurant and the dirty looks started.

Bakura barely noticed the dirty looks, he'd gotten them his whole life, so what should he care? He had no intention of paying them any mind, they were dirt, and you walked on dirt, you didn't pay attention to how it looked or felt, you just walked on it.

Ryou, on the other hand, shrunk back slightly. The looks were filled with disgust, and that disgust increased when he moved closer to Bakura for comfort. He felt utterly humiliated. He felt like everyone hated him.

Bakura wrapped his arm around Ryou, smiling down at the boy. Ryou had always been shy, so shrinking back from a crowd was expected.

"It's okay," Bakura told him softly. "Don't worry about it so much." He hoped he could bring Ryou out of the little shell he'd buried himself in out of, what Bakura thought was, shyness.

Bakura's arm around him made him feel even more self-conscious. The people began muttering among themselves and kept glancing over at him and Bakura. When they were seated at their table, he sat right next to Bakura instead of across from him, needing the emotional support. He wasn't so sure he wanted to eat here anymore...

Bakura didn't know what Ryou could possibly be worried about. Then the people started talking.

"Look at them... _gays_ they shouldn't be in public!"

"Disgusting filth."

"The little one's cute, but the big one's scary... are they brothers? Is this incest?"

Bakura growled and held Ryou tighter. "Ignore them," he said. "They're not worth shit and they know it."

Ryou could feel tears pricking his eyes at the terrible things the people were saying. How could people be so cruel? He bit his lip to keep from crying and buried his face in Bakura's arm, bright red from shame and embarrassment.

"Maybe we should just leave..."

"No, we're not leaving. That means they win, and I don't lose to homophobic trash!" He lifted Ryou's chin so they were looking each other in the eye. "I care too much for your pride to go down like this. They can go fuck themselves. We don't need them, I only need you."

Looking in Bakura's eyes, Ryou forgot all about the people around them. Forgot about all of the nasty things they were saying. He saw only Bakura, heard only Bakura. Sniffling slightly, the boy nodded.

"Okay, Kura."

Bakura smiled and kissed Ryou softly. The people in the restaurant gasped softly, he flipped them all off. "They are nothing." He whispered into Ryou's lips.

Ryou nodded, kissing him back, eyes drifting closed.

"Nothing," he agreed.

Bakura smiled and moved back to look at Ryou. "There are more of them, tons more, just ignore them and your life will be perfect."

Eyes fluttering open again, Ryou looked back at his yami. "I-I'll try, Kura."

"You won't try, you _will_. You're stronger than that Ryou and I know you can forget about them." He cupped Ryou's face, funning his thumb over Ryou's flawless cheek. "You _can_."

Ryou bit his lip and nodded. If Bakura said he could... Then he sure would try his hardest. He smiled softly and leaned his head into the touch. It felt nice.

The waitress came by and scowled, obviously upset at the show of affection. "What can I get you freaks to drink?"

Bakura growled at her. "Your blood in a cup, that should be a good start." He smirked at the look of terror on the girls' face.

Flinching slightly at both the waitress and Bakura's comments, Ryou said in a small voice, "Just water, please."

Bakura sighed. "Corona..." And the waitress ran off as fast as she could, Bakura's laughter echoing behind her.

Ryou sighed, resting his chin in his right hand, elbow on the table. Things weren't going as perfect as he'd hoped.

Bakura glanced at Ryou once he'd stopped laughing. "I'm sorry Koi, I'm not a civil person, I'm being as nice as I can." He sighed and rubbed Ryou's back softly.

They boy smiled softly, looking over at his yami. "It's okay, Kura. I was just hoping that this would go smoother. It's not your fault."

The yami nodded, "Alright."

"Bakura's back?" A familiar voice called out. Joey approached the table. "Hey, I'm sorry about what happened, I really am." He said sincerely.

Ryou jumped a little in surprise at Joey's sudden entrance.

"Oh, um, hi..." He swallowed, no really sure what to say.

Bakura stayed silent, unsure of exactly what to say. Bakura didn't forgive anyone, Joey included.

"I'm here with my sister, I didn't expect to see both of you here. I really am sorry Ryou, I had no idea that would happen! I can't imagine how awful that would have been for you." Joey said.

Taking a deep breath, Ryou let go of his grudge against Joey and smiled softly.

"Thank you, Joey. I accept your apology."

Joey looked relieved, "I'm glad."

Bakura shrugged. He didn't forgive, he just didn't.

"Whatever." He said.

Sighing, Ryou smiled at Joey. "Thanks for coming over here. I'm glad that you care."

Joey smiled. "I do care, you're my friend. Yugi was pretty mad though, he yelled at all of us. Though I already felt awful, I can't believe Yami hurt you like that."

"It was terrible..." Ryou shivered. "I really don't want to talk about it."

Joey nodded. "I understand, I'm not asking you to tell me. I just wanted to apologize."

"And I accept your apology." Ryou gave his friend a reassuring smile. Sure it still hurt, but holding a grudge didn't help anything.

"And Tristan is too, he's just on vacation at the moment. And Tea... well we haven't seen her for a while." Joey shrugged. "But who wants to listen to her babble about friendship?"

Bakura smirked. "Okay, for once, I agree with you Mutt."

Ryou nodded, giggling a little. "Okay. Well, thank you for coming over." The pale boy was really ready for Joey to go. He may have forgiven him, but he still didn't really trust him completely.

Joey smiled. "I have to get back to my sister anyway. See ya around Ryou!" Joey walked off waving once before turning the corner.

"Bye!" He waved back, then sighed softly, resting his chin back in his palm.

Bakura chuckled. "Even though I'm loving the distance from these freaks. You shouldn't stay away from them forever."

"I won't. I just... I don't think I can be around them right now. I feel like there's a huge gap between them and I now. It was like... The ultimate betrayal." Ryou sighed, feeling generally down now.

"As much as I hate them... they did think they were helping, they had the best intentions... they just didn't do a good job of listening." Bakura smiled and pulled Ryou closer. "And they're doing all they can to make up for it... except Tea, but no one likes her anyway."

Sighing, Ryou nodded. "I know... It's just something that I find hard to completely forgive. I'll forgive them one day. Just not this soon."

"As long as you forgive them." Bakura nuzzled Ryou's hair.

Ryou giggled, liking the feeling of Bakura nuzzling his hair. "I do, Kura. They all seem genuinely sorry."

Bakura smiled. "They are, and I don't want you to end up alone like I did."

"You're not alone anymore. I'm here." Ryou leaned his head on Bakura's shoulder, smiling.

"That's why I said 'did'." Bakura said.

The waitress came by and put their drinks down. "A-are you two ready to order?"

The pale hikari gave her an adorable smile, feeling a bit better. "I'll have the shrimp alfredo, please!"

Bakura shrugged. "Crab." He didn't really care what kind, he just liked cracking the legs with his hands.

The waitress nodded and quickly walked away, shaking slightly.

"I love you, Kura. Thank you for making me feel better," Ryou said.

"I love you too. And I'll do that anytime." Bakura said, petting Ryou's hair gently.

Everything was starting to look perfect again. Unknowingly, Ryou pushed his head up against Bakura's hand, likeing the feeling of being petted.

Bakura continued petting Ryou. "You're such a kitten." He laughed.

Ryou blushed a little, suddenly aware of his actions. "O-oh..."

"No, it's not a bad thing. It's more like a compliment."

"Still... It's not something you hear everyday." Ryou giggled shyly.

"Well, different is good."

True, true. Sometimes it just takes you by surprise, though."

"Surprises can be good too." Bakura said. "For instance, finding out that you're Dad is coming home from Egypt next week... that would count as good right?"

Ryou's eyes widened and he gasped. "H-he's coming here? I suppose it'll be nice to see him again, but Bakura... My father is a huge homophobe."

"He called months ago, and I would have told you but then I got... sent away. And we'll just have to act like we're not together, the last thing I want is your father hating you." Bakura said.

"Oh, okay..." Ryou smiled softly at Bakura. "Thank you, Bakura, but I don't want to do that. I don't want to lie to him."

Bakura shook his head. "No, lying is better than him not coming back."

Ryou stared at the table and sighed. "Maybe we could get him to see that everything is okay..."

"I don't want to risk it Ryou, if not lie, then we'll just tone it down. That way it's not quite lying."

The boy nodded. "Okay. I can handle that. But if he asks... I'm not going to lie to him."

"Then we'll just have to be so good that he won't ask." Bakura said, kissing Ryou softly again.

This time the people stayed silent.

Ryou kissed Bakura, back, relishing in the fact that nobody protested. Bakura's plan sounded good enough.


	14. Chapter 14

Bakura came inside the house with a ton of grocery bags. "I'm back!" He called. "And I could use a little help!"

Giggling, Ryou hopped up from his perch on the couch and rushed to the door. The past few days Bakura had been really helpful around the house. He helped with some of the cooking (the simple stuff; Ryou still didn't allow Bakura around things like the stove) and the cleaning. And now he was even getting groceries!

The boy took some of the bags from his yami's arms happily. It was nice having Bakura do these kinds of things.

Bakura went back outside and grabbed the remaining bags.

"Thanks for getting those, I got the rest." Bakura said, carrying the bags into the kitchen. He wanted everything perfect for Ryou's dad's visit, it mattered that Ryou's father came by because if he stopped Ryou would cry, and Bakura hated seeing Ryou cry.

Ryou began putting things away in the kitchen. His father would arrive later that day and he was quite nervous. He didn't want anything to go wrong, or for his father to find out about him and Bakura. As much as he didn't want his father to know, he'd still never lie. They just had to make it look like they weren't together.

Bakura started helping putting things away, until he saw the time. "I better go make the guest bed... it's still dirty from uh..." he snickered. "…Last night's activities." And he went into the first floor bedroom, stripping the sheets and putting clean ones on.

"O-okay," Ryou stuttered, blushing. He still wasn't completely comfortable talking about sex in the open. Especially when his father could come in unannounced any minute. He couldn't image what kind of hell would break loose if his dad heard that.

Bakura came back after a few minutes, "Okay, we're good. No evidence left." He wrapped his arms around Ryou's waist, but let go when someone knocked on the door.

"Why don't you get that?" Bakura said, moving to sit on the couch.

"Ryou?" His father called from the other side of the door.

A bit disappointed when Bakura's arms left him, Ryou nodded and headed for the door. He grinned then opened it.

"Hi dad."

"Hey!" Ryou's Dad said, smiling at his son. "I thought for a moment you weren't home, usually the door flies open when I get here." He laughed.

Bakura stood and walked over. "This your dad Ryou?"

Ryou giggled. "Sorry, I was putting some groceries away." Still grinning, the boy nodded. "Dad, this is Bakura, Bakura, this is my dad."

Ryou's dad laughed. "That's fine..." He looked at Bakura with a frown. "Where did you come from?"

"Oh, I'm not from around here. I came from Egypt ironically, I've been living with Ryou ever since, he was nice enough to have me stay." Bakura explained, the whole thing was the truth, just an extremely vague version.

"I see, well then that's okay, if Ryou trusts you then I'm sure you're fine." Ryou's Father said, walking into the house.

On the outside, Ryou was grinning and extremely happy-looking. He was the perfect host. On the inside he was a nervous wreck. What if his father found out? What would he think? What would he say? Would he stop visiting? The boy discreetly took a deep breath to calm himself. If everything went smoothly, then his father wouldn't hate him.

"Well it was very nice to meet you, but I'm actually heading out with a couple friends." Bakura said, walking out the door. "I'll be back for dinner though!" And with that Bakura was gone.

"He seems nice," Ryou's father said, moving his bags inside the house.

"Bye!" Ryou turned back to his father smiling. "He is. He's a bit... blunt at times, but nice." The boy helped move his dad's bags. "You'll be in the guest room." Starting towards the stair, the boy smiled to himself. Without Bakura there, there would be no temptation. Sure, he would miss his yami, but at least there was no chance of his father finding out at the moment.

Ryou's dad nodded and left his stuff in that room. He turned to Ryou and pulled his son into a hug. "I missed you." He said. "I'm sorry I can't be here more often.

The boy returned the hug, smiling softly. "I missed you, too. And I know that your job is very involved. I'm glad when you get to come home, though."

Ryou's father pulled away and smiled. "You've grown up so much, I'm just upset that I wasn't here to see it."

"I'm sorry." Ryou smiled sadly back at his father. He really did care... Maybe he wouldn't be too upset if he told him...

Ryou's father continued like that, smiling at Ryou. "How have you been? What have you been up to?" He asked, his hands on Ryou's shoulders.

"Well..." Ryou considered telling him right then and there, but found that he couldn't do it. He could not bring himself to make his father possibly hate him. "I've just been keeping up with school and such."

"Good!" Ryou's father grinned. "I'm glad you haven't been skipping school for some girl or something."

_Not for a girl..._ Ryou managed to keep his smile from faltering. "A few weeks ago I was sick and missed a few days, but other than that I've been doing my best."

"I'm glad to hear that. Take better care of yourself though." He said, brushing hair out of Ryou's face. "You look so much like your mother..." He breathed softly, remembering her.

"Well, my umbrella was ruined and I wasn't informed of it and..." he sighed. "I kinda got soaked." Ryou smiled up at his father. _I should tell him..._

"I see, that makes sense." Ryou's father nodded. "Just try to be careful. Okay?"

"I am. I'm very careful." Still smiling, Ryou took a deep breath. "Dad, I have something to tell you."

"Hm? What is it Ryou?" His father asked.

"I-I..." He swallowed. _I can't do this..._

Ryou's father frowned. "What's wrong Ryou?"

Gathering up every bit of nerve he had, Ryou took another deep breath and forced it out.

"I'm d-dating Bakura."

He just couldn't believe it. His son was gay? He let out a somewhat angry sigh and turned around to pick up his bags. He turned and headed for the front door.

"I seem to be in the wrong place. My son isn't gay." He said, his voice livid.

Those words made Ryou stagger back slightly, breath hitching. He'd rather his father hit him, beat him, scream at him; anything other than basically telling the boy that his own father didn't think of him as a son.

"P-please dad, I-"

"I'm not your father." He said, walking to his car. "You must have me confused with someone else." He threw his bags in the back seat and climbed into the front. "You have a nice life, it's one I don't want to be a part of." And he drove off.

Tears formed in the white-haired boy's eyes as he watched his father leave. There was a hole in his heart. His father hated him; he didn't love his son. Why could he not just accept that his son is gay?

_No,_ Ryou thought, curling up on the couch, crying_. /I'm not his son. He doesn't seem to think so./_ As the tears rolled down his face, he called out to Bakura with their mind link, sounding broken. ~Kura...~

~Ryou? What's wrong Koi?~ Bakura was concerned and frowned. He was with Malik and the other yami watched on curiously.

~I'll be right there Koi.~ Bakura sighed. "Sorry Malik, I gotta go. Something's up with Ryou and it doesn't sound like it can wait. We'll have to pick up where we left off later." He got up and went for the door. _Damn! And I had a card that would have turned this whole duel around! Oh well, Ryou needs me._ He got into the car and left.

Malik's face formed what could only be called a pout. He was so close to winning!

Ryou was still on the couch. His body was shaking with the sobs. It hurt so much. His father hated him.. He needed Bakura to be here. Needed his yami's arms around him.

Bakura entered their house and rushed to the couch where he heard Ryou crying.

"Koi, what's wrong?" He said as he pulled Ryou into his arms.

Burying his face in Bakura's chest, Ryou couldn't talk. So he continued using the mind link.

~He left. I... I told him... I thought... He was just being so nice... I didn't think he'd leave.~

Bakura held Ryou wordlessly, letting his lover cry against him. There was nothing he could say now to make Ryou feel better.

The hurt didn't go away even after the tears stopped. He was unloved. That's how Ryou felt: unloved. He knew that Bakura loved him... but who else? If his own father didn't even like him, then who else would? Even if the boy wasn't crying anymore, he continued shaking in his yami's arms, just needing the support.

Bakura rocked slowly, he had nothing he could possibly say. He knew how it felt to be abandoned, so all he could do was be here for Ryou while he needed it.

There was a soft knock on the door and Bakura didn't want to get up until...

"Ryou, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten mad like that." Came the voice of Ryou's father. "I shouldn't have said those things to you and I'm sorry."

Ryou had just calmed down when he heard his father's voice through the door. The boy didn't move. He felt his breath hitch and he froze. After a few more minutes, his body shook again and he let out one more sob before forcing himself to his feet, making them carry him towards the door.

He opened it, eyes still red and puffy from crying.

Ryou's father looked at Ryou with guilt. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything like what I did. I regret it, and I didn't realize it until after I said it."

Normally a very forgiving person, the boy immediately wanted to smile and take his father back. This is what one part of him said...

But the other said to slam the door in his face. His father was an ignorant bastard. _But he's apologizing... Well, if he really cared, he wouldn't have said those things in the first place. Maybe he's sincere. He seems to regret it... It must be an act. He just wants to laugh at you._ Ryou just stood there conflicted and looking at the ground.

~Ryou, not everyone is out to make you cry, he made a mistake, he realizes that. He's the only family you've got and it would kill you if you told him to go away.~

Ryou's father could only hope Ryou would forgive him.

Taking a deep breath, Ryou decided to listen to Bakura. He stepped forward slightly and looked up at his father, swallowing.

"I-I forgive you."

Ryou's father pulled his son into a hug. "I really am sorry." He whispered.

Bakura let out a tiny smile, he was happy Ryou could have something he couldn't, that Ryou could have other people and be happy with them as well.

"I know," Ryou whispered back, returning the hug. He didn't notice Bakura behind him at all as the hole in his heart patched itself up. _Geez, I've been really sensitive lately... I need to stop that._

~Don't stop being sensitive, it's one of the things I love about you!~ Bakura said impulsively before biting his lip. _Damn... now he knows I read his thoughts._

Blinking, Ryou stepped back from his father. He smiled at him as he thought to Bakura over the link, ~You read my mind?~

~Shiiiiiiit... uh yes.~

The boy frowned slightly, not realizing he was just standing there.

~Kura, I'd like to have SOME things kept in private...~

~I was worried about you and you forgot to close your end of the link. I can hear everything you think if you don't close it.~

~Well... Um, Kura, I don't really know how to close it.~

Bakura laughed through their link. ~You just have to want to close it and it will close.~

~But... I don't want to close it. I would have just liked to know that you've been reading my mind.~

~If you leave your link open all the time I can hear all your thoughts all the time. EVERY thought, including the ones you'd rather not have anyone hearing. Those ones come through the loudest.~

The boy turned a little pink hearing him say that, but was determined not to hide things from Bakura. ~I'll still leave it open. I just wish you'd have told me about this earlier.~

Bakura shrugged. ~I thought you knew...~

This whole time Ryou had been standing there, face changing expressions as if he'd been talking to someone... while standing right in front of his father.

~I don't know these things...~

Ryou's father looked at his son strangely. "Are you alright?"

~We'll finish this later.~ Bakura sent him.

Blinking and bringing himself back to the real world, Ryou grinned. "Yes! I just got... I was in my own little world for a second there."

~Okay, Kura.~

"I swear you're just like your mother." His father sighed. "She always had her head in the clouds."

Smiling sadly, the boy moved out of the way to let his father into the house. "Where are your bags?"

"I left them in the car, I figured you were more important than dragging my stuff back. Plus I had no idea if you were going to let me stay."

Letting a happier smile light his face, Ryou said, "Of course I'm going to let you stay! I just can't say no to you! I barely ever get to see you. Come on, let's go get them." With that, the boy walked out the door and towards the car that he knew was his father's.


End file.
